


Edge of Tonight

by Letmebecomeataboo



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 1940s, AOS, Agents of SHIELD, Because I can, But an AU for AoS, Canon compliant to Agent Carter, Canon-Typical Violence, Daisysous, F/M, Fluff, Period-Typical Racism, SSR, Sousy, Still don't know their ship name, The team from AoS is just the LA branch of the SSR, Timequake, canon compliant but also an AU, dousy, only one chapter, quake - Freeform, secret agents, very little tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25315621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Letmebecomeataboo/pseuds/Letmebecomeataboo
Summary: 1946, New York CityDaniel Sousa is an agent, working for the SSR in New York. When the search for wanted fugitive Howard Stark comes to a stand still, a new agent named Daisy Johnson is sent from the Los Angeles office to help. Now, on top of trying to figure out where Stark is, Daniel suddenly has to fight with his feelings for the mysterious and beautiful new agent.
Relationships: Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa, Sousy - Relationship
Comments: 169
Kudos: 341





	1. A siren in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> This is my little contribution to the Daisy x Daniel ship. I'm obsessed with them! They are amazing. 
> 
> The title is taken from the song Egde of Tonight by All Time Low. I really love the song, and I feel it fits nice for this ship. Enjoy!

“They’re sending someone over from the LA office.” Daniel Sousa looks up at his boss, who’s standing a few feet away from him, talking to Agent Jack Thompson.   
  
“Any idea who?” Thompson asks, just as Sousa’s partner, Agent Peggy Carter, opens her mouth.  
  
“To aid in the search for Howard Stark?” the brit asks. The chief sends her a stern look, but nods.   
  
“Yes. Apparently, we’re not doing enough. Agent Johnson from Los Angeles will be joining us. And I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories about Agent Johnson. He’s one of the SSR’s best, so play nice. Sousa, I’m putting you and Carter in the welcome committee. Try not to bore the man to death.” With that, Dooley gives Thompson a clap on the shoulder, before he disappears into his office. Daniel groans and leans back in his chair. All they need in this place is another Thompson walking around.  
  
“Chief knows to put a pretty face in the welcome party, huh,” Thompson says to Carter, with a wink. Peggy seems unfazed.  
  
“That explains why he didn’t choose you,” she states calmly, before turning on her heel and marching back to her desk. Thompson just shakes his head, and disappears the other way. Daniel sometimes feels like he's babysitting children. Very lethal, armed children. Peggy sighs behind him, and Daniel turns around on his swivel chair to face her.  
  
“This Agent Johnson, what do you know about him?” she asks. Sometimes Daniel forgets how little Peggy gets included in the office talk, how she never gets invited to evening drinks at the bar. She never learns all the secrets the men share while slightly intoxicated. For a moment, Daniel feels guilt settle in his stomach. He’s about to answer her, when Agent Krzeminski leans over from his desk.  
  
“He once infiltrated a Hydra base during the war, and got out with close to all their info about the next attacks. Just walked, right out, files in hand,” Krzeminski says. Peggy doesn’t look convinced, as she opens her mouth to protest, but another agent starts talking before she can.  
  
“There was one time when he managed to take down Ian Quinn. Traced the man to Malta, and destroyed most of his Hydra based research.” The agent says. Agent Grayson puts down his donut, and joins in on the conversation.  
  
“I heard he once rode into a hostage situation on a horse, gun in each hand, and took out close to a hundred guys, saving all the hostages,” he says. That comment sparks a lot of mumbling in the room. Daniel shakes his head. He knows that one is untrue.  
  
“That wasn’t Johnson. That was the cavalry, agent May. And there wasn’t any horse involved, and it was more like twenty guys,” He says. The mumbling stops. Then agent Grayson shrugs his shoulders.  
  
“Whichever one it was, point is, Carter, you don’t mess with the fellas from the LA office,” he says. Daniel once again feels the need to join in.  
  
“Agent May isn’t a fella. She’s a woman. I met her last year during a mission in Washington.” That comment causes an uproar in the office. Peggy looks at Daniel again, and raises an eyebrow. He just nods, confirming to her that he isn’t lying. Meeting Agent Melinda May from the LA office had probably been the most awing experience of his life. She was the literal embodiment of silent, but deadly. Small but fierce.   
  
“Okay, ladies, that’s enough gossip for today,” Thompson barks, and turns to Peggy and Daniel. “Johnson’s plane touches the ground in four hours. You’ll both be there to bring him here. And Marge, be nice to the guy.”  
  
Peggy rolls her eyes at that one. As if Thompson knows what being nice is like.  
  
—————-   
  
They arrive at the airport some ten minutes early, and watch as the plane comes to a stop. It will never cease to amaze Daniel how these gigantic metal birds can even take off from ground. Just the size and the weight and everything. It seems impossible. Johnson's plane rolls to a halt, and the airport crew runs out with a staircase, making it ready for people to disembark.   
  
“Never really been a fan of flying, myself. You?” Daniel asks as they wait. Peggy shrugs.  
  
“I’ve been in a plane flown by Howard Stark over enemy territory in Europe whilst being fired upon. I can’t really be afraid of flying after that.” Daniel can feel his jaw going slack. Only Peggy Carter could so easily drop such a topic in the middle of a conversation. Because only Peggy Carter could ever have experienced something like that. It must be weird for her, hunting for an old friend as if he’s just a common criminal. It’s known through the office that Carter worked alongside Stark for most of the war. And Captain America. No one ever seems to remember she worked with Captain America as well.  
  
“Peggy, that’s –” more he can’t say, before Peggy interrupts him. “Ah, here they come.”  
  
People begin disembarking the plane. Mostly women, a few children, and some men. They watch for a few minutes. The amount of time these people use to get down the stairs is slowly making Daniel annoyed. He has one leg and could have done it faster. It seems everyone on the plane has gotten off, a few women and an old man bringing up the rear. And yet, no sign of any Thompson looking man in a suit.  
  
“That’s odd,” Daniel says, looking around. “He was informed we were coming, right?”  
  
Peggy turns on the spot, looking behind them, and Daniel crane his neck, trying to see if there perhaps is another person leaving the plane. There isn’t. The flight attendants are already walking down the stairs. Where the hell is Johnson?  
  
“Agent Sousa and Agent Carter, I presume?” Daniel snaps his head back, and looks at the person in front of him. It’s a woman. A very beautiful woman, with tan skin and long brown hair in perfect waves. A red dress clings to her body (though Daniel tries to look away quickly. He is, if nothing else, a gentleman). A small handbag dangles from one of her wrists and she has a small suitcase in the other hand. After putting her case on the ground, the woman pulls off her sunglasses, revealing perfectly arched eyebrows and brown eyes behind long lashes. Before either Peggy or Daniel can say anything, the woman extends her hand to him. “I’m agent Daisy Johnson.”  
  
All Daniel can do is stutter. Peggy on the other hand, grins widely. Daniel isn’t sure he has ever seen her smile this way before. There is almost a sort of childish glee in her.  
  
“Agent Johnson,” Peggy says, taking the other woman’s hand. “I’m Agent Peggy Carter. It’s a pleasure to meet you, we have heard a lot of stories.”  
  
The young woman chuckles slightly, she can’t be older than twenty-five. “Likewise, agent Carter.”  
  
Daniel looks between the two women. They look completely different, yet there is something so similar about them. His brain is still trying to tie this woman up to all the stories the other guys told him. Can this tiny woman truly be behind all of them? At least he understands why Peggy is so excited. The guys at the office will probably pass out when they find out the man they all idolize is actually a woman. Serves them right, actually, because of how they’ve treated Peggy since she joined the team.  
  
“Agent Sousa?” Daniel is shaken out of his thoughts by Peggy’s voice. The two women have already walked a little distance away, and he hasn’t even noticed.   
  
“Yes, uh- Sorry,” he stutters, and wobbles after. Agent Johnson glances at his leg quickly, but look up after a spilt second. Their eyes meet for a second, and she sends him a little smile. For a second he fears she’s pitying him, but there isn’t any pity in her eyes. It’s simply a smile. She, as far as he can tell, is simply a nice person. The three of them walk towards the car, and Peggy turns towards agent Johnson.  
  
“The guys at the office are all so excited to meet you,” she says, a grin on her face. Agent Johnson laughs. Clearly, she understands why.  
  
———————  
  
“The SSRs New York office uses the telephone company as a front. It’s quite efficient and no one suspects it.” Daniel explains to Agent Johnson as they ride the elevator to the correct floor. “Only the people on this floor are aware of us being here.”  
  
The door opens at the correct floor, and the three leave the elevator, Daniel once again a little behind the two others.  
  
“Afternoon, Rose,” Peggy says with a smile at the phone operator who guards the door to the SSR. “This is Agent Johnson from the LA office. She has clearance to enter.”  
  
Rose nods, showing she understands, before opening the door. Daniel wobbles past the women, just in time to hear Rose compliment Johnson on her dress. It is a really nice dress, he must admit, but he can’t think like that. Not now. Johnson isn’t here for him, or anyone else, to look at. Daniel proceeds into the bullpen, Carter and Johnson on his heels. As they come to a stop in a straight line, Johnson clearly visible between Daniel and Peggy, the whole room goes quiet. Not a sound. Then chief Dooley speaks up from where he is standing in the middle of the room.  
  
“Sousa!” he barks “What the fuck is this?”  
  
Daisy rolls her eyes ever so slightly, and as she steps forward, towards the chief, she digs out a small piece of paper from her purse. Her credentials, Daniel understands.  
  
“I am Agent Daisy Johnson from LA. I’m here to help with your Stark problem.” The unmistakable sound of something hitting the floor and breaking has everyone turning towards the left. Agent Grayson is standing there, a plate broken by his feet and a sandwich in the middle of the porcelain pile.  
  
“You’re Agent Johnson?” he finally says after a little while. Johnson just nods once, and sends him a little smile. She really is very beautiful. Chief Dooley finally snaps out of the trance he seems to be in.  
  
“Right, Agent Johnson,” he says, “I must admit that Chief Coulson didn’t mention that, um-”  
  
“That I’m a woman? Yes, it’s a common mistake that people make. As long as it doesn’t affect the way you respect my decisions, we won’t have a problem,” she says, and smile again, albeit slightly more sarcastic now. Agent Thompson decides to join the conversation just then, swooping in and extending his hand to Johnson.  
  
“Agent Jack Thompson, ma’am,” he says with a smirk. Next to Daniel, Peggy scoffs slightly. He seems to hear her whisper hypocrite under her breath. Agent Johnson doesn’t seem very impressed by Thompson at least, which fuels some sort of childish glee in Daniel. Why must he behave like this? Thompson really should learn to respect women a little more. For his own sake, rather than for Peggy and Johnson. Daniel is quite sure they could both knock him out if they wanted.


	2. Speaking in morse code

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story actually started out as a one shot that I wrote at like two am on my phone. And then is sort of evolved and got a life of it's own. And here we are! Anyway, here's chapter two. Enjoy!

Johnson’s been with them for a week, and already Daniel can say that he has never respected another person this much (Peggy being an exception). Johnson, who had tried and failed to get him to call her Daisy, is so efficient and easy to work with. During just this one week, she’s proved herself on multiple occasions. And no matter how many times Agent Thompson tries to flirt with her, she just doesn’t care about it. And turns out, Thompson can flirt a lot. To a point where it’s almost embarrassing for Daniel just to watch. But it isn’t just with shutting down Thompson’s advances that Johnson impresses Daniel. She joins them in the field, the first time is when she joins Daniel, Thompson and the chief to pay a visit to a Mr. McFee. They found the man tied to a chair, walking down his own driveway.  
  
“Who did this to you?” Dooley asked, but McFee didn’t want to talk. Unfortunately for him, Dooley wasn’t a patient man.   
  
“Promise you won’t make fun of me,” McFee had said, his eyes moving between the other men, who all gave a mumbling promise that they wouldn’t. The big man sighed. “It was a woman.”  
  
Dooley rolled his eyes. Thompson had groaned and rubbed his forehead. Daniel, he had turned to Johnson, to watch her reaction. Her lips were set in a line, and she looked just about to say something about how it shouldn’t be embarrassing to get knocked down by a woman, when the ground suddenly shook violently, and an explosion sounded somewhere. Daniel reached out a hand to keep Johnson steady, but she had seemed to be far more secure on her feet then him. 

McFee got knocked down to priority number two, as Daniel had jumped into a car with Thompson, and set off towards the sound, Dooley and Johnson not far behind. At the new crime scene, Johnson had wandered away as the men loudly discussed what to do about the dead body in their midst. Yeah, they had found a dead body, and clear signs that someone had been at the scene before them. Daniel had followed Johnson with his eyes, as she crouched down and picked something up from the dirt. She turned towards him, and held her hand slightly open. From her fingers dangled a key.   
  
The key had brought them to a hotel room, where they had found multiple passports, money and a large typewriter. Even Dooley had to admit that Johnson had found them a valuable lead and that she indeed was an asset to the team after that. The next days had been similar. She joined him at the night shift, not even complaining when she was asked to do it. Most of the guys still either flirted with her, or tried to pawn their paperwork onto her, like they did with Peggy, but just like the British woman, Johnson didn’t take it. When a call had come in about where Howard Stark's stolen inventions were, she picked up a gun, and followed him there. Fast, efficient, no nonsense, just how Daniel liked his co-workers. If they could do their job, why did it matter if they were women or men? 

After retrieving the stolen goods from the docks where they had been told they were, and after finding Agent Krzeminski’s dead body in the middle of the road, Johnson had sat down next to him, and offered him coffee. Daisy Johnson was just nice like that. She even supported him when he thought it best to go down to the docks to look for clues as to who the anonymous caller had been.   
  
But right now, all Daniel really wanted to do was sleep. He’s brought back a homeless man named Frank from the docks, hoping to acquire some information. And the only thing he had gotten, was an opportunity for Thompson to show how much better he was at his job. That man is getting closer to Daniel’s last nerve with every second that passes. 

Daniel sighs, and looks down at the photo on his desk. He just needs to look for another clue! It’s a photo from Spider Raymond’s club, the only one existing of the woman who killed him. She managed to avoid being taken a single photo of, at least that showed her face, and this one of her back is the only one he has. He cocks his head to the side. Sheldon McFee had said the woman who attacked him had brown hair. Frank had mentioned a dark-haired woman on the docks. Can it all be the same woman? He pulls open his drawer, and finds a brown pencil. Quickly, he begins colouring the woman’s hair, which is light in the photo.  
  
“A new lead?” Daniel nearly jumps when Johnson’s voice sounds just by his ear. She leans over his shoulder, examining the photo. Her chest is almost against his back, and Daniel is trying his very best not to think about it. But that is kind of hard. She’s just so, so. He’s not sure. Soft, perhaps? He turns his head to smile at Johnson, but when he does, he can see her smile has fallen. She looks like she’s thinking.  
  
“What?” he asks, “what have you got?”   
  
“I don’t know yet-” Johnson says, looking serious and deep in thought at the same time. She takes a step back, and Daniel frowns at the loss of her warmth behind him. Johnson excuses herself, still looking slightly dazed. Then she walks away from his desk, towards the door. She passes Peggy on the way, and Daniel can see her take a firm grip around the other woman’s wrist, and pull her into the observation room next to the interrogation room. He can’t hear what she says, but a few seconds later, a confused looking Agent Grayson and a pissed off looking Agent Thompson stumble out of the room.  
  
“This is too far! Who does she think she is?” Daniel hears the blond man grumble as he rushes past him, towards the Chiefs office. Like a child, off to tell his parents that his siblings aren’t playing fair. Of course, the exception being that the chief isn’t back from Europe yet, so it’s more like an older sibling going to be angry in his room. Perhaps Thompson finally will be done flirting with Johnson all the time. Daniel grabs his crutch, and gets to his feet. Johnson has clearly seen something in the photo that he hasn’t. Perhaps it’s female intuition? Something only a woman can see on another woman? Whatever it is, he should know, as it’s HIS case they’re solving. Well, his and Peggy’s, but still. Johnson is only a consultant. 

The thoughts race through his head as he walks through the bullpen. Replaying his mental image of the photograph as he goes. What did he miss? He reaches the observation room, and raises his hand to knock. In that second, the door is ripped open, and Daniel has to force his arm to stop moving, to prevent himself from letting his fist connect with Johnson’s forehead. She startles back a step, right into Peggy, who let out a loud oomph.  
  
“Sousa!” Both women groan at the same time, once they get their bearings. It’s almost funny, but Daniel can keep a straight face when he needs to.   
  
“Is there anything you two want to fill me in on?” he barks, a little angrier than intended. The women share a quick look before shaking their heads.  
  
“I don’t see why that would be necessary-” Peggy begins, while Johnson says:  
  
“It really isn’t any of your business what two women speak of in privacy.” Daniel holds up two hands in mock surrender. He isn’t pleased, but he also knows he won’t get these two to talk unless they want to talk.  
  
“My bad,” he grumbles, and turns, beginning to walk back to his desk. Women really are annoying at times. But they can keep their secrets, he thinks a little bitterly, he doesn’t need them to solve this. 

“Are you mad?” Johnson comes up beside him, and grabs his arm, forcing him to stop. Daniel sends her a tight look. 

“You two are keeping something from me. If you know anything- anything, that can help the case, why won’t you fill me in?” He asks, and feels his blood begin to boil when Johnson rolls her eyes.

“Oh, for god's sake, I was asking her if she had some female hygiene products,” the woman growls at him. Daniel’s eyes widen, and he feels blood rush to his face. From the corner of his eye, he can see Peggy running a hand over her face, clearly annoyed with him. Or embarrassed. No, Peggy Carter doesn’t get embarrassed, she’s annoyed. “Now, if you haven’t noticed, Peggy is the only other woman here. But you’re right. Next time I should ask you.”

Then Johnson storms away, and Daniel is standing stuck, looking at the spot she was just in. Peggy walks past him, and sends him a tight smile, as she follows Johnson down the hall. Agent Morris walks past, and puts his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. 

“Two women in the office. And you managed to make them both mad at you with one sentence. And here I thought you were their golden boy,” the slimy man says with a smirk. Daniel sends him a look that would have him on the floor if looks could kill, then shrugs of his hand, and limps back to his desk, wishing he could go home soon and just go to bed. It’s been a way to long day.

\------------------ 

They’re going to Russia. Or, that means, Peggy, Johnson and Thompson are going to Russia. Sousa and his one leg gets to stay behind at the office and do paperwork. Which he hates. But, even he can admit that running through the Siberian forest with only one leg can be a little tricky. The typewriter they had found in the empty hotel room Johnson had found the key to, had started typing on its own, giving out coordinates. And now, Peggy, who served time in Russia during the war and speak the language fluently, and Johnson, who also speaks the language to a certain degree, and apparently has a gift when it comes to getting into locked places, are going to Russia. With Thompson of all people. Daniel doesn’t like it.

It’s been two days since his little misfire with Johnson, and Daniel isn’t sure what to do. He wants to talk to her, and apologize, but she seems to be avoiding him. That is another talent of hers, it seems. Daniel slips into the changing room, checking on the guys who are changing into tactical gear, and hands Thompson the field report. He watches Thompson pat around himself.

“Oh, Sousa,” the blonde agent says, “I seem to have left my compass. Locker 42, would you grab that for me, pal?”

Daniel really doesn’t want to help Thompson, but he also knows that the Russia team needs to get going soon. So, he walks away from the others, and around the corner, straight into Peggy. Who is almost naked. 

“Oh, uh-” Daniel stutters shocked, and advert his eyes, just as Peggy spins around so her back is to him.

“Bloody Nora,” the woman shouts at him, clearly just as shocked as he was. Why was Peggy in the men’s changing room?

“You’re-” is all Daniel can say, before Peggy cuts him off with a short yes. Daniel feels heat in his face. Damn Jack Thompson, he’s going to kill that guy one day. 

“Found it!” Thompson shouts from the other side, and Daniel can hear the guys laughing. He isn't sure if they’re doing this to taunt him or to taunt Peggy. Probably both of them. Daniel looks up from the floor, ready to turn and leave the room, when something on Peggy’s shoulder catches his eyes. On her upper right shoulder, there are two small scars, one just above the other. And Daniel can swear on his life that he has seen those scars before. But not on Peggy. He just can’t remember where. Peggy coughs a little.

“Anything else, Daniel?” She asks, looking slightly over her shoulder at him. Daniel stutters. He wants to say no, but what he does say instead is, “Have a swell trip.”

God, he feels stupid. He turns around, and just as he’s about to leave the room, Johnson comes rushing in, already dressed in her tactical gear. Daniel has never seen her wearing pants before. And now he kind of wishes he hadn’t. She looks good. Apparently, so thinks Thompson, who whistles.

“Damn, Johnson,” he says, and despite Daniel having his back to the man, he knows he’s smirking. Johnson sends Thompson a look that could kill, paired with a sweet smile. She looks beautifully murderous. Then she looks up at Daniel, and her eyes soften. At least she doesn't want to kill him.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asks, and Daniel nods. Thompson whistles again, as Daniel follows Johnson out, and closes the door behind him. She doesn’t stop walking, and he has to limp after quickly, as she doesn’t stop before they’re almost by the door out. She turns to him.

“I want to apologize for losing my temper,” she says. Her hair is pulled away from her face in a braid, and her eyes look much bigger than normal. Daniel shakes his head.

“No, I should apologize. I was rude. And ungentlemanly. And I should learn to trust you more. I know that both you and Peggy are on our side in this.” Johnson smiles at him.

“Well, then. I’ll see you when I get back, Daniel,” She says. Daniel frowns. 

“Be careful, Agent Johnson,” he says. She studies his face for a second.

“If I promise to come back in one piece, will you start calling me Daisy?” she asks, and Daniel feels laughter building inside of him. God, this woman is relentless. But he nods, and holds out his hand for her to shake.

“It’s a deal.”


	3. Every one of my mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter names are sentences from the song I named the fic after btw. This is the longest chapter so far, almost as long as the other two put together. Also, this is totally not proof read, so please tell me if you find any mistakes in here. Enjoy!

Just because parts of the team have gone to Russia, doesn’t mean that Dooley doesn’t keep the rest of them busy with work. Daniel isn’t sure how much more paperwork he can do before he goes crazy. But he has to, because even though Daisy and Peggy are off following one lead, he still has to follow up on others. It’s been a few hours since the group left for the airport. Most of the guys at the office have gone home. Daniel’s sitting by his desk, a stack of files on one side, and one open before him. It’s the Spider Raymond file, and the picture of the blonde. Or brunette now, as he coloured her hair. He squints at it. Something in his subconscious is telling him that this photo is a lead, but he still hasn’t gotten anywhere with it. He sighs, and drops the photo back on his desk, rubbing a hand over his forehead. Feeling tired, and very done with the whole photo, he reaches out to close the file, and that’s when he sees it. The woman is wearing a dress that doesn’t cover her shoulders. And there, on her right shoulder, are two small scars. Daniel’s mind spins. No! It can’t be. There is no way, absolutely no way that this can be Peggy. 

“Hey, Fell!” Daniel calls out, as an agent walks past his desk. The man stops. “Could you grab Carter's file for me? I need to check something for a report.”

Agent Fell nods, and continues on his way. Daniel leans his arm on his desk, and uses it to prop up his head. His eyes go over the photo again and again. He’s already stared at it for so many hours, so what’s a few more minutes?

“Don’t you have a life?” the hoarse voice of Chief Dooley says behind Daniel. He looks up as the chief stops beside him, and groans.

“I’m an SSR agents, sir. My job is my life.” the chief chuckles, and Daniel spins a paper around on his desk. Then he looks back up at his boss. “What are you still doing here?”

“Meeting a friend for a drink. Figured if I went home, wife might not let me out again.” Dooley says, as he puts his hat on. Daniel smiles and laughs through his nose. He’s not married himself, but he has met the chief’s wife. That woman knows how to get what she wants. The chief turns to him. “Women, right?”

Daniel nods, and watches as Dooley walks towards the exit. His mind wanders briefly to Johnson. Daisy. He has to get used to her being called Daisy. Women, alright. Fell comes back into the room, passing the chief, and handing Daniel the file. 

“Thanks,” Daniel says, as the other agent continues to his own desk. Daniel flips it open. A photo of Peggy greets him, her serious face staring right up at him. It’s hard to imagine her as blonde, he thinks, as he looks over the rest of the papers in the file. God, he hopes he’s wrong about this. He quickly flips through all the pages, until he reaches the one that describes recognizable features. It’s there as a way to identify the agent, should something happen to them. Daniel stares at Peggy’s. The only thing marked on hers, is two small dots, drawn onto the back of the right shoulder. Two bullet scars, right above each other. Just like in the photo of the girl at Spider Raymond’s bar. Daniel stares at it. He can’t think straight. There is just no way. But here it is. The evidence, clear as rain, right in front of him. Peggy Carter killed Spider Raymond. Daniel leans back in his chair, a shocked expression on his face. How could she?

The Russia team arrives home the next afternoon. As Daisy approaches his desk, she smiles and holds her hands slightly out to the sides. 

“One piece, as promised,” she says, and Daniel smiles back. She’s changed out of her tactical gear, and is wearing a purple sweater with a green skirt. She looks beautiful, but he still notices the wound on her cheek. He points to his own cheek, and she understands.

“Looks like someone tried to prevent that,” Daniel says, and Daisy shrugs. She takes a chair, and rolls it up beside Daniel’s desk. 

“We found a boarding school. And a murderous little girl. She stabbed Dum Dum Dugan, yeah, I know, THE Dum Dum Dugan. I tried to stop her from running away, but, as you can see, she was slightly faster than me,” Daisy explains, moving her hand over her cheek. Daniel desperately wants to reach out and do it for her. But he can’t.

“Hello, Daniel. Glad to see you didn’t let America burn to the ground whilst we were away,” Peggy strolls in, and disposes of her purse on her desk. Daniel has to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything. Just the sight of her makes him angry. Angry and very, very sad. He’s always said he’d trust Peggy Carter with his life. Now he isn’t sure if he’d trust her with his own phone number. So, he just nods to her. He can’t talk to her. He’ll just get angrier. Daisy seems to notice that something is wrong, but before she can say something, Dooley calls from his office.

“Carter, Thompson, get in here. I want a full debrief from both of you. Johnson too.”

“Duty calls,” Daisy says with a slight eye roll, and gets up, leaving Daniel alone by his desk. He watches her go. Sees her talking to Peggy as if nothing is wrong. Except it is. Everything is wrong. And he is the only one that knows. Around him, most of the guys are getting ready to leave. It’s been a long two days, and they’re all going out to raise a last glass to Agent Lee, who died in Russia. Thompson, Peggy and Daisy leave Dooley’s office soon after. As she is picking up her jacket from her desk, Peggy turns to him. 

“How come you are the one who looks like he hasn’t slept for two days?” She asks. Daniel shrugs. He can’t just blurt it out. His eyes find Daisy, settling on her soft movement as she pulls on her coat. 

“Just staying up, worrying about you guys,” Daniel says after a few seconds, looking back at Peggy. He sees Peggy cast a quick glance at Daisy. 

“Ah,” is all she says. Thompson puts his hat on by his desk.

“Daniel, you coming? You can buy me a drink for every red I killed,” he says with a smirk. Daniel shakes his head, and runs his hands over his sweater vest. 

“Not tonight, Jack,” he says. “Pillow’s calling.”

Jack shrugs, and begins walking towards the door, his coat hung over his shoulder.

“Come on, Carter. You too, Johnson. I owe you both a bourbon.” Daniel can see the smile on Peggy’s face, and he feels sadness in the pit of his stomach. She’s just been accepted by the boys club, and now he might have to destroy that. He hates himself. Peggy directs her beam at him, as she walks past, towards the door. Daisy, on the other hand, isn’t smiling quite as big. 

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Daisy asks, looking at Daniel. He opens his mouth, and at first, he can’t say anything. Then he tells her he’ll join another time. He just isn’t in the mood today. 

“Okay,” Daisy says. “Good night, Daniel.”

“Good night, Daisy.” She grins widely at that, and it makes him feel warm on the inside. He really wishes Daisy Johnson would smile at him all the time. She has such a nice smile. 

\-----------------  
Daniel feels the photo in his pocket, like it’s going to burn through his shirt, despite that being completely impossible. He looks around, taking in the loud noises of the prison around him. He’s been seated by a table, and waits for the guards to bring in Sheldon McFee, the man they arrested some weeks before. He adjusts his position, his leg aching from using it too much the last few days. McFee approaches him slowly, shuffling his feet against the floor. 

“Hey, Sheldon,” Daniel says. The man doesn’t seem to care for politeness.

“What the hell do you want?” McFee growls, leaning forward. Daniel sighs. Straight to business it is then. 

“Just a little trip down memory lane. When we arrested you, you said some lady beat you up, cuffed you to a chair.” Daniel sees the man cast nervous glances around the room. He clearly doesn’t want anyone in there to know. Daniel doesn’t really care. “Think you can identify her?” He asks.

McFee shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not. What can you do for me?”

Daniel expected this. He’s worked with criminals before. Without wasting a second, he starts listing how he can make McFee’s time in prison considerably shorter. It’s easy to give men like him what they want. 

“This is a one-time offer,” Daniel says, when the man tries to argue. Finally, McFee agrees. Slowly, Daniel digs out the photo he stole from Peggy’s file, and holds it up in front of the big man. McFee takes on glance, then nods.

“Oh, yeah,” he says. “That’s her.”

Daniel feels his last shred of hope shatter, and hit the floor. This was the last lifeline he had, holding on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t Peggy. But it is. He pushes the photo closer to McFee. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. She came to my house that night. She was looking for Brannis. She left with him, and the truck full of nitramene.” 

Daniel frowns, and turns the photo to himself. Peggy is looking right up at him. 

“She’s a pretty bird,” McFee says. “When she’s not punching me in the face. Who is she?”

The agent looks up again, meeting McFee’s eyes. With a sigh, he says “Not who I thought she was.”

\-------------------- 

Daniel rushes into the office.

“Hey, so I kind of need to speak to you,” Daisy slides up beside him. Daniel sends her a quick look. 

“Not right now, I need to speak to Dooley,” he says, and pushes past two agents. 

“It’s about the chief. I really think he shouldn’t-” Daniel cuts her off.

“Daisy, not right now! I have to talk to Dooley. Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait.” He doesn't wait for her reaction, only proceeds towards the chief’s office. Once there, he opens the door, and sees Dooley talking to the Russian man they rescued, Ivchenko or something. 

“Chief,” Daniel says, “I have something for you.”

“We’re in the middle of something, Sousa. Can it wait?” Dooley asks. Daniel shakes his head, and moves, so that he doesn’t block the door. Daisy, who apparently was standing right behind him, also moves, and stands with her shoulder almost, just almost, touching his. Daniel holds up a file, and sighs. Finally, the chief gets up from his desk. Daniel follows him across the bullpen, into the meeting room. Daisy is still trailing behind, casting nervous glances towards the office. 

“What, Sousa? This better be important,” Dooley says. Daniel nods, and puts the file on the table, opening it. The pictures of the blonde from the club, the photo of Peggy, McFee’s statement as well as any other sliver of evidence Daniel could find slides out onto the table. 

“Peggy is working with Howard Stark. She’s been sabotaging our investigation for months.” The door slams shut behind Daniel, and both he and the chief jump in shock. Daniel turns, and looks towards it. Daisy is standing there, her eyes wide, her mouth open. She looks heartbroken. Just like Daniel feels. 

\--------------------- 

Peggy’s been arrested. Daniel can’t believe it. He just got his own partner arrested. All this time spent trying to solve the Stark case, and she was actively working against it. They brought Peggy in wearing handcuffs just a little while earlier. She had tried to apologize as she passed him, but Daniel had turned away. The feeling of Daisy’s small hand on his forearm had been the only thing keeping him from throwing something across the room. 

He just had to get out of the stuffy office after that. He has spent months trying to prove to the others that Peggy was just like them. Trying to be her friend. And still she does this. He is, for lack of better words, heartbroken. He really thought he could trust her. Daniel has found a small diner not too far from his apartment. He almost went home, but changed his mind. He needs food, and even though he normally makes himself dinner, or, if he’s lucky, his landlady gives him something, he doesn’t feel like cooking or talking to Mrs Malarkey. His spirit is broken. He had begged, begged her not to run. To not prove his worst fear to him. Peggy Carter was a criminal, working with a known fugitive. 

Daniel feels so stuck. His mind keeps replaying the same scenes. It’s stuck on Peggy, her betrayal. Stuck because of his foot, which made it possible for Peggy to run away when he tried to stop her. They could have caught her hours earlier, if she just hadn’t run. But she had, just like any other criminal would. On top of that, Daniel feels so stuck in his stupid infatuation with Agent Johnson. One month! He has known her for one month. But there is just something about her. About how gracefully she moves, how she always looks perfectly put together, how there seems to be something behind her eyes, much older than she is. He just can’t get her out of his head! Even with all this Peggy business, he thinks about Daisy. How she tried to give him comfort, despite Peggy being her friend too, her confidant in this city she was ordered to move to. It’s driving him mad. The way Daisy looked when he told them it was Peggy. Shocked and broken, but not surprised. Like she had expected something like this. 

Daniel sighs, and looks down at his burger. He doesn’t even like burgers that much. They’re just soggy meat in soggy bread with soggy lettuce. A thin, tan hand suddenly comes into view, and steals a fry from his plate. Daniel’s eyes snap up. Daisy is sitting there, right in front of him, smiling softly as she chews on the fry she has taken.  
  
“How are you feeling, Agent Sousa?” she asks, her eyes filled with kindness. It isn’t really a question, more an observation. He knows how devastated he must look, his hair all messed up, his eyes heavy. Daniel doesn't know what to say. That he feels sad because his partner turned out to be a traitor and a criminal? Or that he is sad because he knows Daisy will never like him the way he is starting to like her? That is just pathetic.  
  
“How did you find me?” he asks instead. He doesn’t even try to conceal that he changes the subject. Daisy notices it, but she doesn’t say anything. Daniel watches as she shrugs.  
  
“I saw you leave the office. I wanted to come after you right away, but I had to talk to Peggy. It was just a coincidence that I saw you through the window. I thought you might need to talk.” Daniel notices that she says needs to talk, not want to. Because he really doesn’t want to. A waitress comes up to the table, and Daisy orders herself a plate of chicken. Clearly she’s determined to stay and talk. Sousa briefly wonders what the other patrons and waitresses think. Perhaps that they are married? No, Daisy doesn’t have a ring. But on a date maybe? He finds himself wishing it can be a date. That all the Peggy business can disappear, and he is just out to eat with a beautiful girl and that is all. But Daisy clearly wants other things.  
  
“Peggy and I, we’re the only women in the office.” She starts. Daniel’s eyes freeze on her. Did she know? Had she known Peggy was working with Howard Stark? Daisy holds up a hand before he can say anything. “I didn’t know what she was doing. I had suspicions. That photo? I knew about Peggy’s bullet scars. I’d already seen them. Or one. I knew she had one. That’s what I asked her about, that day with the whole, um- female hygiene thing. But I never thought she was working against us. You have to believe that!” Daniel blushes at the mention of the whole female thing again. God, he just wants to forget that whole conversation ever happened. He also wants to trust Daisy. But she was already suspicious. Why hadn’t she told him? How can he trust that she isn’t keeping something else from him?  
  
“We were working the case together. I just want to know what you found, and you lied!” She opens her mouth to answer him, but the waitress arrives before she can say anything. Daisy’s chicken is placed between them, and the waitress hurries away. Seems like she can feel the tension. They both follow her with their eyes. Once she's gone, Daisy looks at him again.  
  
“Look, I had a hunch, asked Carter about it, she proved me wrong, clearly lied to me to, end of the story.” Daisy's eyes flicker towards the door, and suddenly her face splits into a bright smile, and she moves her gaze back at Daniel. “Smile and take my hand.”  
  
“What?” Daniel says, beyond confused. What the hell is she doing? Daisy's eyes flicker quickly around the room, then she grabs his hand.  
  
“There have been four men entering this diner since I came. Poorly concealed firearms and very suspiciously trying to not look suspicious. Don’t turn around, and follow my lead.” Daniel gives her a nervous smile. What is going on? Daisy laughs. It sounds forced. Very forced. Clearly Johnson is many things, but an actress is not one of them. She pulls her purse into her lap, and digs out some money, throwing it on the table.  
  
“Time to leave,” she whispers, and gets up. Daniel grabs his crutch and follows her lead. Before he can even find his balance properly, the first shot is fired. It pings past his ear, and hits the wall besides him with force. A scream sound, and Daisy is moving. She’s across the room and kicking the shooters legs away from under him faster than Daniel can blink. More shots sound as the other shooters join the game.  
  
“GET DOWN!” Daisy shouts, and the patrons that aren’t already on the floor do as told. Daniel looks around, trying to find a weapon he can reach. His eyes meet Daisy’s, and she shouts to him. “DANIEL!”   
  
He doesn’t like it, but he also doesn’t have to be told twice. He ducks down, and presses against the table. A large tremor shakes the entire room, and suddenly two of the shooters come flying over Daniels head, crashing into the wall.   
  
“What the-” is all Daniel can think, before Daisy appears before him. She grabs his hand, and pulls him up.   
  
“We need to leave!” she says, and together they run towards the back door and out, into the alley behind.  
  
“Ah, Agent Johnson!” a voice calls out from somewhere between them and the alley opening. Daisy spins to try the door again, but it’s locked behind them. She turns back, panic in her eyes.   
  
“No, no, no,” she mutters, and for the first time since meeting her, Daniel can sense fear from her. He pulls his gun from his jacket, finally remembering it’s there. Why didn’t he use it inside? A man comes into the light in front of them. Daniel watches as Daisy puts her hands out in front of her, and what looks like ripples appear in the air, moving towards the man at high speed. The man is nearly blown off his feet, but manages barely to stand his ground.  
  
“So brave, Agent Johnson. Just like your mother.” He says with a smirk. Daniel can see Daisy’s hand slack. They sort of lose their height, nearly dropping to her side. Her whole face is shocked. The man smiles at her. “I need you to come with me. Don't worry, your friend can come as well. I think it’s time I take a look at you. Just like Reinhardt did with your mother.”

Daniel feels a sharp pain in the back of his head, and the whole world slowly goes black. The last thing he sees is Daisy's limp body, falling towards the ground, his own not far behind.


	4. Keep me safe, keep me sane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for breaking my schedule, I ran out of pre-written chapters. Anyway, here's another long chapter, so enjoy!

When Daniel comes to, he doesn’t know where he is or how much time has passed. He groggily blinks a few times, and groans as he pulls himself into a sitting position. The surroundings slowly become steady in his spinning head. It’s been a long time since he felt this messed up in the head. Has he been drugged? Daniel looks around, slowly taking in his surroundings. There’s hay on the floor, and wooden walls. A barn? It looks like a barn. Every move Daniel makes with his head makes him want to throw up. Whoever hit him, hit good. A groan to his left forces him to move his head. Daisy’s limp body is lying next to him.  
  
“Daisy!” Daniel says, and scoot over to her, his leg and head protesting every move. She groans again. At least she’s alive, that’s good to know. Slowly, her eyes begin to open. Daniel looks down at her. “Good to see you move”.  
  
“My head,” Daisy croaks, her voice hoarse. “Ugh, I can’t- It feels like there’s cement running through my veins.”

“Drugs,” answers Daniel. “I haven’t been this messed up since the field hospital.”

Daisy begins trying to sit up. Daniel tries his best to help her, but she shakes her head. 

“I want to hear that story someday, when I can remember it,” she says, and extends her hand towards her feet. She groans, but nothing happens. Daniel wasn’t exactly sure what result she was hoping for. She looks, well, no better than he feels. Her blue dress is dirty, her hair coming loose from its styling, and her make up is smudged over her face along with dirt and a few scrapes. Probably from getting knocked onto asphalt. 

“I can’t quake,” she says in a low voice, looking towards Daniel with wide eyes. He raises an eyebrow. She rolls over, and sits up. “I have, eh- I have powers, kind of. I can control tremors in the air. Create earthquakes with my hands.”

“They must have hit you hard,” says Daniel, once again coming close to her, this time to grip her face, trying to examine her scrapes and eyes, looking for a concussion. He still refuses to believe that Daisy did all the things he saw in the alley. No person can just control things like that using their hands.  
  
“I’m fine,” she slurs, almost like a drunk person. Daniel isn’t impressed. The woman just tried to convince him she can make earthquakes with her hands.  
  
“No, you're not, let me look,” he says. Daisy lets him examine her face, following his gaze with her eyes. He carefully strokes a finger over the largest gash on her cheek.   
  
“Well, isn’t this a sweet sight.” Daniel spins around, startled by the voice. A man is standing in the door to the barn. He’s young. Probably very early twenties. His blonde hair is standing messily up around his head, but his suit is immaculate. It’s the man from the alley. Daniel puts himself between Daisy and the man. The man chuckles.   
  
“Cute, Agent Sousa. But it won’t exactly help her.” then the man gestures to his men. “Grab her.”  
  
“No!” Daniel throws himself at the first man who comes close. He gets in one good punch, using his head as his hands are tied to his back. The guard hits him in the jaw, sending him flying across the floor.  
  
“No! No!” Daisy screams and kicks as they pull her from the floor. As Daniel tries to get up again, he feels a wave of nausea hit him, and he doubles over, not sure if he has to throw up or not. The man at the door chuckles. “Some hero you are, Agent Sousa.”

\----------------------- 

The first time they bring Daisy back, she’s bleeding from small cuts all over her body. They’re not too deep, or seem to be dangerous. But Daniel’s gotten a paper cut or two before himself, and knows the pain just a small cut can make. 

“What did he do?” Daniel asks, as he helps her sit up from where they threw her on the floor. Daisy shakes her head.

“Nothing too bad. I’ve taken worse,” she says. Daniel feels his eyes widen, and he looks at the woman in shock. Daisy groans, and holds a hand up to stop him from talking. He hasn’t even opened her mouth, but she seems to know he has questions. “I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s talk about something nice. Like, uh- where are you from? I never asked.”

Daniel obliges. He doesn’t want to argue with her. He tells her a little about growing up in Twin Falls, Idaho, and about his family. His mother, his father, his sister. Daisy chuckles as he tells her about the one time he managed to convince Kitty that the colour red was only a figment of her imagination.

“You were an evil older brother,” Daisy says with a smile.

“Not evil. Just brotherly love. What about you, Johnson? Where are you from?” For a second, he thinks she won’t answer. She pulls her lips in between her teeth, and lets it out with a little pop. 

“I was born in the Hunan province in China. My mother was Chinese. My father was an American doctor. When I was very little, a man, doctor Reinhardt, he killed my mom, and kidnapped me. Coulson and agent May saved me, and placed me in a orphanage her in New York. The whole thing, it drove my father mad. He became violent. He didn’t hurt me, but he often hurt others. He even saved my mom, patched her up together, but apparently, she was never the same. First time I met her, she tried to kill me. I got away. Then the war came, and I joined as a telegrapher. My mother died, Reinhardt came back, and finished his work. My dad killed him, but he sacrificed himself in the process. He died too. Now I’m here. Alone.” She sighs, and Daniel raises an eyebrow in shock. How Daisy was still so strong, was beyond him. 

“I can’t even begin to comprehend how that must have been for you,” He admits. She looks over at him. Her brown curls have come undone, and is framing her face in a way that highlights all her features. How she still can look so beautiful, covered in dirt and scrapes, is beyond Daniel. 

“Yeah, well, it’s not like I had a choice,” she answers him.

“And the earthquake thing. When did that-”

“I inherited my powers from my mother. It’s genetic. She was sort of an immortal. Well, not immortal, but she didn’t age. That’s how she survived when my dad patched her up. She worked with people with powers, helping them get used to it. But she didn’t even want to try when I got mine. This girl I knew, Raina. She was also set up for powers. But you have to sort of activate them. She forced me to do it. My friend Trip died trying to save me from it.” Daisy says, and groans as she shifts position on the floor. She looks at him again. “Let’s talk about something else. I don’t want to talk about my mom or my powers.”

So they do. He tells her about stupid things, like the food he likes, his favourite place he has ever been. She tells him about the SSRs LA office. It sounds so different from the New York one. Several female agents, even female scientists. People of colour. Standing side by side, with the same worth and rights. They grow silent after a while, just sitting shoulder against shoulder in the cold barn. Daniel’s head is spinning with all the information Daisy has given him about herself. It’s unbelievable. At some point the both drift off to sleep, but they wake up again soon. They continue with their silence.  
  
“Have you ever been married, Agent Sousa?” she asks just as the silence is growing unbearable. Daniel almost laughs. Where on earth did she get that idea, he wonders. Then he shakes his head.  
  
“No,” he says, and feels Daisy clench up beside him. “but there is this one woman. I don’t mean I’m engaged or anything. I just mean that I really like her, but I haven’t told her that. There is just something about her. She makes me feel, I don’t know- alive, in a way.”  
  
“Yes,” Daisy says, her voice low, “Peggy Carter seems to have that effect on a lot of people,” 

Daniel looks over at Daisy in shock, but she looks down in her lap, twirling her small hands. Daniel crinkle his eyebrows. In what world does she think he’s in love with Peggy?  
  
“No, not- eh,” he stutters. This probably isn’t the place to admit that he means her. He continues “Do you, eh-, Agent Johnson?”  
  
“No.” Her answer comes quickly. Very quickly, he thinks. Then she keeps talking. “But, I was engaged once. His name was Lincoln. A doctor, actually. And an inhuman, like me. He died on a field in France, three years ago.”  
  
Daniel immediately feels guilty. Here he is, alive and almost well, while Daisy’s fiancé is buried in some mass grave somewhere in France. He feels bile in the back of his throat, just like he does any time anyone brings up the fact that he survived and others didn't. He hates himself for it. Daisy seems to sense it. She turns towards him.  
  
“You can’t blame yourself for that,” she whispers. He knows she's right, but it's hard to see logic in this situation. Only reason the two of them are even having this conversation is because of good old dumb luck. Daniel survived, Lincoln didn't. It's just luck. God's little gamble. He wants to say something more, to comfort her, but the door opens, and in strolls the man from earlier. As far as Daniel can tell, it’s been ten hours since last time. His belly screams for food, and all he wants to do is fight his way out of the barn. But he can’t.  
  
“Hello again,” the man says with a smile. “I think I forgot to introduce myself last night. I apologize for that, I was just so excited. My name is Nathaniel Malick. I’m an old friend of Daisy’s mother. Or, that’s wrong. My boss, he’s an old friend. But he let me take the lead on getting to know you, Daisy. I assume she’s told you about her powers.”  
  
Daniel clenches his jaw. He won’t let this man get any reaction from him. Malick sighs, and stands up to his full height. 

“Now, Daisy’s been drugged, so her powers don’t work. But she still has the amazing genetics of any inhuman. And since you two are here anyway, I think I should do some more tests. Nuh uh, Daniel. You can’t come. Just Daisy.” A big man comes towards Daniel, who is trying to get up. The man raises his fist, and darkness engulfs Daniel before he can even finish a thought. 

He comes back to himself on the dirty floor of the barn. He’s all alone, no Daisy or anyone else in sight. Then he hears it, a loud scream. 

“Daisy” he shouts, and tries to get up, but with little results. He trashes around. The screaming ends right after, and then the door opens. Two men drag an unconscious Daisy into the room, as Malick walks in behind them. Daisy’s blue dress has been removed, and she’s only covered by a white underdress, and some lousily wrapped, dirty bandages. Even her feet are bare. Daniel climbs to his knees, looking with disgust at the blonde man. 

“What did you do?” He asks, as the guards dispose of Daisy on the floor. Malick shrugs.

“I took as much blood and spinal fluid as I thought she could handle. Now all I have to do is transfuse it all to me. I know it's risky, but I want to try new things. If it doesn’t work, we’ll switch from needles to knives.” Then he turns around, a self-satisfied smirk on his lips. As soon as the man starts walking, Daniel spins around, and pulls himself closer to Daisy. He whispers her name, and she mumbles something incoherent back at him. At least she’s alive, and conscious. But her voice grows weaker with each word.

“Hey!” he says, “stay with me.”

She mumbles again. It sounds like she’s saying something in a foreign language. Jiaying. A name maybe? Daniel isn’t sure, he doesn’t know what that means. Daisy moves her hands feebly, and Daniel moves even closer to her.

“You wanted to hear my story, right?” he asks, using his good leg to push himself up until Daisy’s head is resting in his lap. “Well, it was - foggy. I can’t really remember the hit.”

He moves his hand to check her pulse. When he finds it, weak, but still there, he breathes in relief. 

“I came to, and my leg was a pulpy mess. And I was completely alone. Okay-” Daniel moves his hand to her shoulder. It’s awkward moving with his hands tied to each other. He sighs again. He has never told anyone the full story about how he lost his leg. It’s not exactly a dinner table topic. “And then Mike Stevens showed up. And the thing about Mike was that he was a resolute ass.”

Daniel laughs, thinking about his old brother-in-arms. His hand moves over Daisy’s soft, brown hair.

“He would never shut up, always bullying the new guys, stole sigs. But that day, he just kept talking to me.” Daniel can feel the memories stirring up in his head. It’s been a long time since he thought about Mike Stevens. With a sigh, and a slow stroke across Daisy’s head, he continues his story. “Carried me back from the line.”

He feels Daisy’s head roll on his thigh, and quickly moves to shake her awake, urging her to wake up. She can’t die now, that isn’t fair. She deserves to live more than anyone else he has ever known. Daniel lays down behind her, putting his weight on his good leg and his arms.

“For the next couple hours, he stayed with me. When the Germans advanced, and the cold got so bad I thought we would freeze, he just kept telling me we are going home.” Daisy buries her head into his thigh. At least she’s moving, he thinks, as memories he’s long buried, wages a war in his head. Damn Mike Stevens. “Then at some point I was in a field stretcher and eh- Mike wasn’t.”

He sits up, moves his head closer to Daisy’s. “So, consider my japping as a way of passing on the favour.” He moves her hair from her face. “We are going home, Agent Johnson. You hear me? We are going home! But you have got to fight. Please fight. I can’t get through this without you. I really need you- because, eh-, I didn’t mean Peggy, earlier. I was talking about you.”

His breath is coming in small, shallow pants. It takes all of him not to gasp when Daisy slowly extends her hand to him, and shakenly opens it. Inside, wedged into her palm, is a shard of glass. Daniel is stunned. She’s been tortured by a maniac, and still she managed to get them a weapon. How this woman is even real, is beyond him. Agent Daisy Johnson is the most unbelievable and amazing person he has ever met. He looks down at her, and slowly pulls the glass from her palm. She winces, but then it’s out, and Daniel studies the bloodied glass in his hand. “Plenty of fight left in you after all.”

\--------------------

It takes several hours before anyone returns to check on them, but when it happens, it’s the biggest of the guards. A large man with a sour face, that Daniel knows he wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. Daniel has moved Daisy, laid her against the wall, so that he is free to move and do what he needs to.

“Hey, buddy,” he says to the guard. “She’s not doing good. You need to get some help.”

The guard doesn’t even spare a glance at Daisy, but walks right over to Daniel, and kicks his leg away from under him. His feet crash to the floor, and he lets out a deep puff of air. 

“Leave me alone, help her,” he says, his voice tired. The man gets to work on the shackles binding Daniel’s legs. Daniel carefully moves the glass shard from one hand to another. This is his shot. The guard moves up towards Daniels head, having unfastened his legs.

“No?” Daniel growls. As the guard leans down, Daniel takes the opportunity to punch both his hands up, into the man's stomach. The glass cuts through the man's shirt. He groans in pain, and doubles over, which gives Daniel the opportunity to throw a punch into his face. As his balance is off, Daniel uses the chain that used to bind his feet, to draw the legs away from under the man. He goes plummeting into the floor, and Daniel jumps to his feet as fast as possible. He lips over to the man, who is just about to get up again, and throws out a punch, the glass cutting across the man’s cheek. His head falls back to the floor, and he stills. Still high on the adrenaline, Daniel looks around, and falls to the floor, going for the keys the guard had missed during their fight. Then he moves over, sitting down next to Daisy’s unconscious form. After getting the handcuffs off himself, he moves on to get everything off Daisy. He fumbles with the keys, his body weak from such a long time with so little nutrition. 

“Yeah, I got you,” he whispers to Daisy, as he takes her arms, and draws her to him. She groans as he pulls her against his chest, and slides an arm beneath her bare legs. He knows what he’s about to do will hurt like hell, but he also knows it’s his only option. Slowly, he moves onto his knees, before putting his good foot to the floor. Using only one foot, he pushes himself up, until he’s standing, Daisy hanging limp in his arms. He adjusts her body, pain shooting through his entire leg. The prosthetic he wears is bad enough when it’s just his own weight on a crutch. This is much worse. But he has to get them out. Suddenly, he hears it. The slow rumble, as the walls begin to shake. He pants. Daniel moves his eyes to Daisy, her unconscious head resting against his shoulder. 

“Is that you?” He asks nervously, as the barn creaks around him. He looks over his shoulder, then turns around. Malick is standing behind him, shaking slightly, his whole body leaning towards the left. The man has blood running from his mouth, and stares at Daniel with wide, glassy eyes. The floor is shaking, and Daniel struggles with the footing. He doesn’t want to slip, or drop Daisy. Malick pants. 

“My bones,” the man says through clenched teeth. His whole arm is shaking. “They’re cracking.”

Daniel casts a worried glance towards the ceiling. He’s not sure the old barn can take much more. And just as he thinks that, the roof above them starts to cave in, hitting Malick in the head and knocking him to the ground. In that moment, Daniel decides that there is no point for him to stay any longer, and as fast as he can, he runs, or limps, out of the barn. He turns around once he’s a few meters away from the barn, just in time to see the rest of the building collapse in on itself, a dust cloud filled with hay and planks. He adjusts his grip on Daisy, before pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.

“We got out, Daisy. Now I just need you to hold on a little while longer. I’m going to get you home.”


	5. You keep me alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very excited about this chapter! And also trying my best to write quickly, but my new job keeps me super busy. BUT I'm to into this to give up (which I'll admit I do waaaay to often with my stories), so here is a new chapter! I'll keep writing. Enjoy!

He manages to hotwire a car that he finds on the side of the road. Daniel has no idea where they are, but he knows finding a hospital is very important right now. After making sure the still unconscious Agent Johnson is secure in her seat, he takes off towards New York city as fast as he can. Or at least he hopes it’s the right direction. It still takes him almost four hours to reach a hospital. His leg is throbbing and he can see blood on his pants, just where the prosthetic connects to his stump. But Daisy is first priority, so he lifts her up, and carries her inside the hospital. He makes it just through the door, before his bad leg gives out, and he collapses. He tightens his grip on Daisy, not about to let her fall. Nurses swarm in from all directions, trying to help him, but he won't take it. Save Daisy, save her, Daisy first, he hears himself say, as if far away. The world moves in slow motion, and he barely registers when they pull her from his arms, and put her on a stretcher. He’s pretty sure he passes out after that.   
  
He wakes up in a hospital bed. His first instinct tells him to contract all his muscles, ready for a fight. It’s a mentality he has kept from the war. But the sudden movement hurts so bad he nearly passes out again.   
  
“Sir! Please, take it slow!” a nurse is by his side in seconds. He looks at her, eyes wide.  
  
“Daisy?” he asks her, “Where is she?”   
  
The nurse pushes him back in the bed, forces him to lean against the pillow.   
  
“Your wife is fine,” she assures him, and he's too tired to correct the mistake. He only nods. He wants to see her. Needs to see her. But the nurse won’t let him.   
  
“Where is she?” Daniel can feel himself getting angry. Is this perhaps just another of Malick’s tricks? To lure them into a hospital, then take Daisy away from him? No, Daniel remembers. Malick is dead. The barn collapsed on him. He has to be dead. The nurse turns around, and runs out of the room. Once she’s gone Daniel swings his legs over the edge of the bed, and then he stops. His damn prosthetic leg is missing. He looks around himself. Where is the dumb thing? They can’t have taken it away from him.  
  
“Sir.” a doctor enters the room. “Sir, you need to calm down.”  
  
“I just want to see Daisy,” says Daniel, his voice heavy and tired. The doctor nods, and turns to a nurse, whispering something. She runs out of the room. The doctor clutches his clipboard.

“My name is Dr Orson. And you are?” Daniel sighs in defeat. He knows he needs to talk to the doctor, he’s a federal agent and, well, not stupid. He won't get anywhere if he doesn't speak. 

“Daniel Jordan Sousa. I’m twenty-eight years old, live in New York city. Lost my leg in France. Can I now, please, see Daisy?” The doctor scribbles on his notes. 

“And your wife? Her age?” 

“She’s uh, twenty-five. No pre-existing medical conditions that I know of. She’s lost a lot of blood.” The doctor nods. 

“Yes,” he says, “we could see that. What exactly happened to you?” 

Daniel opens his mouth, but doesn’t say anything? What can he say? That Daisy was experimented on by a crazy lunatic who took her blood? Because she can make earthquakes with her hands? He would be sent to the nut house for that. 

“A deer ran into our car,” he says instead. “It hit Daisy’s side. We had to walk quite far before we found someone who would lend us their car to use.”

The doctor sends him a sympathetic smile. Daniel is aware that he must look like a mess. He hasn’t washed properly in days, he hasn’t eaten since that god-awful burger, and he has barely slept. The nurse mentions to the doctor from the door. He goes to talk to her, and Daniel runs his hands over his face. He just needs to know that Daisy is alright. The doctor turns back to Daniel, and nods. “We’ll take you to see your wife now.”  
  
They give him a wheelchair, and the nurse from earlier pushes him down a long hall. Daisy’s room is right at the end, seven doors down from where he was. She looks so small in the bed, small and pale. Daniel feels his heart in his throat as he watches her. The steady rise and fall of her chest is the only thing keeping him calm. She’s alright, she’ll be fine.

\-------------------   
For nearly six hours, he sits there, watching her. He just has to make sure she’s fine. Except for when she’s breathing, she doesn’t move the entire time. The nurse gives Daniel some food, that he eats so fast he worries it’ll come back up for a second. She also tries to convince him to go to sleep, but he refuses. The only time he leaves Daisy’s hospital room is when he goes outside to find a phone. When the office doesn’t pick up, he decides it’s not worth waiting, and rolls back into Daisy’s room. He asks for his leg back, but both the nurse and the doctor refuse him. His stump is raw and really bad. He can’t put the prosthetic back on for a few days at the least. Daniel hates being confined to the stupid wheelchair, but he doesn’t have a choice. It’s not like he can jump everywhere. 

“Hey, Johnson,” he whispers as the clock strikes midnight. They’ve been at the hospital for six hours almost to the dot, as far as he can tell. “I’d really appreciate it if you could wake up soon. I miss you.”

Daniel doesn’t believe in miracles normally, but when he feels the soft squeeze of the small hand in his, his head flies up. And there she is, her brown eyes meeting his, and all he can do is break out into a smile. She’s okay! Or, at least she’s much more alive than the last few hours. Daniel clutch her hand between both his, and press a quick kiss to her fingers.

“Nurse!” He calls out, not taking his eyes off Daisy. Her eyes are glossy, and she’s clearly quite out of it still, but that doesn’t matter. Two nurses come rushing into the room. Daniel sends them a quick glance, but focuses back at Daisy. He sees one of the nurses run back out again from the corner of his eye. 

“Mr Sousa, if you could move back a little, so I can do some tests,” the nurse that’s left asks, and Daniel nods slightly, pushing himself back whilst not letting go of Daisy. She follows his movement with her eyes, but when their hands lose contact, she moves her eyes to stare at the nurse who’s rushing around. The other nurse comes back, the doctor in tow. He immediately orders for Daniel to be taken out of the room, and the protesting agent is rolled out, despite almost begging not to be taken out. 

“Daniel?” He hears Daisy ask, just as they close the door in his face. His own nurse puts a hand on his shoulder, before she begins rolling him back to the room he left hours ago. 

“Your wife is in the best hands. I’m sure they’ll decide that she’s fine very soon, and you can see her. She seems like a fighter,” the nurse says with a light voice.

“Yeah,” Daniel says, and sighs. “You have no idea.”

By the time the second hour rolls around, Daniel is close to running his wheelchair into the wall. He’s slept for a little while, but every time anyone passes his room, his eyes shoot wide open, hoping that someone will enter and tell him that he can go see Daisy. And when they finally do come, it’s like something has been lifted off his chest. He feels lighter.   
  
Daisy smiles when he rolled himself back into her room. The doctor has finally cleared that she can have a visitor, her tests done. Daniel feels better the minute he sees her.   
  
“Hey, soldier,” she said with a smile when she sees him, “I hear we’re married now.”  
  
Daniel can’t help but laugh. That makes her smile even bigger. Just hearing her voice, clear and strong, makes him want to engulf her in a hug. She’s been so quiet for the last two days. And even though he didn’t want to admit it to himself, there was a little while where he thought he would never hear her voice again. He looks at her again, his eyes examining her face. Despite all the cuts and everything, she looks beautiful. Her smile falters a little, as her eyes soften.  
  
“Thank you,” she whispers. There are tears in her eyes, as they lock onto his. Daniel uses his good leg and his arms, and heaves himself up from the wheelchair, and onto her bed, sitting down beside her. The whole placement is horribly inappropriate, but then again, they are married, apparently.  
  
“You have nothing to thank me for,” he says, brushing a finger against her cheek. Daisy smiles softly.   
  
“You saved me. I owe you one for that,” she says. He wants to tell her that no, she’s the one that saved him, but he doesn’t. As his eyes search for something in hers, some kind of green light, Daniel feels a surge of bravery.  
  
“Let me take you out to dinner, and we’ll call it even.” He says, the smile slipping from his face with the nerves. Daisy laughs. It’s a wonderful, beautiful sound that he could listen to all day. Then she nods.  
  
“That is a deal, Agent Sousa.” she smirks, “Now, I think it’s time you kiss your wife. She’s very injured you see, and might need some comfort.” 

Daniel’s whole mind shuts down for a second. Did she just? He didn’t think she wanted that. He was so sure that his feelings were one sided. Perhaps they are? Perhaps she’s putting on a show for the staff? But then he looks at her again, the smile is starting to slip from her face. She thinks she’s done something wrong, he realizes. But no, she hasn’t. Daniel reaches out, and cups her bruised face carefully between his hands. Her eyes sparkle up at him.   
  
“As you wish, Mrs Sousa,” he says with a little smile, a tingle going through his body. Before Daisy can answer him with anything other than a smile, he closes the distance between them, and lets his lips meet hers softly.   
  
The feeling is unbelievable. It’s so, so comfortable. Like coming home after being away for a long time. They pull apart, a little breathless both of them. Daniel just stares. How could such a perfect person like Daisy Johnson ever find her way into his life? How did he become this lucky?   
  
They open their months at the same time, and start laughing. Daniel dries a tear from her cheek. When did she start crying? Was he that bad a kisser? He knows it’s not that. They have just survived a kidnapping, and Daisy was heavily injured. Daniel tucks a piece of her soft hair behind her ear.  
  
“Shhh,” he whispers, moving his thumb over her cheek, “We’re safe. I'll never let him touch you again, not as long as I’m alive.”  
  
Daisy nods once, and pulls him down to her, kissing him again. This time a little harder, but still amazing. Like she wants to make sure he’s really there. When she pulls away again, she smiles.  
  
“The nurses are watching through the window,” she says, not taking her eyes off of him. “What did you tell them?”  
  
“Oh, you know. The usual, that you are a secret agent with super powers who was just experimented on by an evil man with a grudge against your mother.” she raises an eyebrow, and he smiles. “Or I might have said car crash. I think I said car crash.”  
  
———————

“Hey, I never asked,” Daniel says a little while later, as they sit in silence in Daisy’s room. It’s early in the morning now, the clock nearing seven. “When I told you about Peggy’s double life, you tried to tell me something first. About Dooley, I think?”

Daisy furrows her eyebrow for a second, and Daniel can see the wheels turning in her head. Then her eyes widen, a panicked look spreading on her face.

“Ivchenko! I- he tried to hypnotize me, get me to do what he wanted!” she says, the words coming out breathless. 

“He can do that?” Daniel asks, and Daisy nods. Daniel runs a hand through his hair. This isn't good. The chief spent hours alone with the man. 

“How many days have we been gone?” Daisy asks. He tries to remember. They were taken in the afternoon. By the time they woke again, it had definitely been night. Then Daisy had been with Malick for several hours, before she came back. Then the same thing happened again at least ten hours later. Daniel frowns. They must have been gone for at least three days, maybe more. By now, someone must have noticed that they’re gone. Daniel rolls his wheelchair backwards, away from Daisy’s bed.

“I’m going to try to call the office,” he says, and Daisy nods as he rolls out into the hall, locating the phone. When he called the night before, no one had picked up. And the same happens this time. He calls two times, both to the open line, and directly to the chief’s office. Nothing. He curses as he slams the phone back on the wall, and rolls as quickly as he can back to Daisy. His face must be thunderous, because several nurses send him worried looks when he passes them. 

“I can’t get a hold of the office,” Daniel tells Daisy the second he gets in the door. Daisy is sitting up in bed, looking with disdain at the soggy food she’s been served while he was gone. She looks up from it and bites her lip, clearly worried.   
  
“That's weird,” she admits, “Maybe you could call the LA office, hear if they know anything?” Daniel nods. That's not a bad idea. He hands Daisy some paper and a pen, and she writes down the super-secret phone number that he should have already known. It’s protocol to know all the SSR phone numbers. She squeezes his hand when she gives him the note, as if he’s the one that's hurt. He smiles tightly. For three days, he’s been gone. For all he knows, New York might have burned down. Or Howard Stark be a free man. Nothing seems impossible at this point. Daisy has super powers, for God’s sake. He dials the number Daisy gave him, and waits as the phone rings.  
  
“Auerbach Theatrical Agency, this is Koenig speaking.” a chipper voice said at the other end of the line. Daniel sighs.

“I need to speak to Chief Coulson, immediately,” he states. There is some shuffling in the background, before the person on the other end returns.

“I’m sorry, who is this?” the polite voice asks, but Daniel can hear the edge in the voice.

“Agent Daniel Sousa from SSR New York. I’m here with Agent Daisy Johnson, and I need to talk to Coulson.” More shuffling, and something that sounds very much like no Sam. Daniel has gotten up from the chair to reach the phone, and leans against the wall heavily. He doesn’t have time for this, he needs answers. 

“Agent Sousa, could you please tell me the code?” asks Koenig from the other side. Daniel rubs his eyes. God, he’s tired.

“Yeah, it’s, um- trout in the milk,” he says. There is more shuffling, something that sounds like a crash and then static. Daniel takes the phone away from his ear, looking at it, before he presses it back. “Hello?”

“Hello, Agent Sousa. This is Agent Coulson speaking. Oh, um- sorry, Chief Coulson,” it’s a new voice that speaks this time. Daniel sighs in relief. Coulson continues before Daniel can say anything. “Agent, what’s going on? According to our contacts, no one has been able to reach either your or Agent Johnson in several days.”

“We were- kidnapped, sir.”

“Kidnapped? Are you alright? Daisy?” Coulson asks, and Daniel can hear the genuine concern in his voice.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Or, we will be. Daisy’s in the hospital. But, sir, I need to know what’s going on in New York. They won’t take any of my calls.” Coulson sighs. Daniel can hear him talking to someone else, but he can’t make out what they’re saying. Then Coulson comes back.

“Dooley is dead. Some crazy Russian got him killed. We don’t have all the details, but they got the bastard in the end.” Daniel moves so he can lean his entire back against the wall. Dooley is dead? No, there is no way. Was Daisy really right about Ivchenko? The man was evil. God, they had been stupid. He had been right there, under their noses. “Agent Sousa? Hello?”

“Um- sorry, sir. I’m here. What about Howard Stark? And Agent Carter?” 

“Both are free. They were never the enemies. Leviathan is dead. Now, I know this may come off as rude, but is there any way I can talk to Daisy? She usually calls once a day.” Daniel almost smiles. Peggy wasn’t arrested! She had been right all along. Of course she had. Why shouldn’t she have been, she was Peggy Carter after all. 

“Daisy is on bedrest. Can’t get the phone in there. Can I take a message?” 

“Just tell her that she’s missed at the office. We’ve all been very worried. And ask her if she won’t come home soon. The team isn’t the same without her,” Coulson says. Daniel nods, before remembering that the man can't see him. He promises to get the message delivered safely to Daisy, before hanging up. He leans against the wall for a few more seconds, taking the time to really process what he just heard. When his brain finally thinks it can handle repeating all that he just heard to Daisy, he gets back in the chair, and back to her. He tells her all Coulson said, and he can’t help but smile back when she grins.

“I knew Peggy wasn’t actually a traitor,” she says. Daniel shrugs, but a smile is on his face as he says: “Technically she was. She helped a fugitive. But turns out our fugitive was innocent.”

Daisy shoves his shoulder for that. It’s a weak push, her body using all its energy just to stay awake. Her strength is something she’ll have to work up again. Malick really did a number on her body. In fact, it's a miracle she’s even awake. 

“Did he say anything else?” Daisy asks later. 

“Just that they miss you over there. They want you to come home.” Daniel smiles at her, and as his eyes meet Daisy’s he can see hers glossing over, and a second later, tears stream down her cheeks. 

“Hey,” he whispers, moving up to sit beside her. He puts his arms around her, pulling her to him. A week ago, being this close to Daisy would never have been anything other than his imagination. But now it seems to just be how it is. She needs his comfort. He needs hers. They had been through something traumatic together. Something horrible. But they are stronger for it. Daniel strokes down Daisy’s hair as she clings to his shirt. Her nose is pressed against his throat. Quickly, he presses a kiss to her hair. 

“We’re going to go home soon. We’ll get you back to Los Angeles. I promised that, remember? I promised to get you home.” Daisy pulls away from him, and looks up at his face, her red rimmed eyes searching for his. Then she pulls him down a little, and kisses him on the lips again. She runs a hand through his hair. 

“How are you even real?” She asks him when they pull apart, and he chuckles. “You are too perfect to be real.”

“That’s saying something, coming from you,” he answers her. She blushes. It’s a good look for her. Everything is a good look for her. 

“You should come, you know.” she says, as her fingers play with a button on his shirt. “When I go back to LA. Maybe you could join for a little while.”

“There is nothing I would want more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For any other couple, I think this would have been a little much a little to fast, but considering how well the series did with the development of these two, I figured it was okay to move almost as quickly in my story.


	6. It's a long way home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might (?) be the longest chapter. Not sure. But very excited, this chapter was a lot of fun to write. Enjoy!

Daisy insists that they return to New York that very same day. Daniel tries to tell her no. She’s barely well enough to keep her eyes open, let alone walk. But she’s so persistent and stubborn that in the end, it’s decided that they can transfer her to a hospital in the city. When Daniel sends her an annoyed look, not happy with her plan at all, she just smiles at him, and he hates himself for suddenly feeling like he would give her the moon if she asked. Feelings. Daniel collects their (albeit few) belongings from the hospital, and allows a nurse to roll him out to the ambulance. He gets in on his own, and takes a seat beside the stretcher Daisy is laid out on. She rolls her eyes at him, but it’s droopy. The hospital is nearly two hours away from New York, but after ten minutes, Daniel can see how much the bumps and movement of the car actually is bothering Daisy. She’s clearly fighting with her whole mind to keep herself awake.

“Daisy, go to sleep,” he nearly orders her. “There is nothing you can do from here anyway.”

She tries to protest, but the nurse that joined them also tells her that she can just sleep. They’ll be stuck in the car for more than an hour and a half anyway. She can get some shut eye. Daniel can see that she is fighting it, but her body wins in the end. He keeps a watchful eye as she drifts off in a fitful sleep. She’s still asleep when they arrive in New York, and as she’s transported from the ambulance into the room they have set up for her. Daniel is beyond happy when they give him a pair of crutches instead of a damn wheelchair. It’s always better to be able to get around on his own. 

He falls asleep himself in the chair beside Daisy’s bed. When a nurse gently wakes him the next morning, he’s slept for seven hours. They’ve been gone for five days soon. Daniel grabs his crutches and stands up. He’s stiff and his neck hurts. Sleeping in chairs isn’t that smart. Daisy is still asleep, laying completely still between the white sheets. Some of the flush she had earlier is gone, and her skin has taken a pale shade. He hopes it’s just because of exhaustion. Her body is fighting an impossible battle. Daniel looks at his clothes. The last hospital had given him a pair of trousers that were slightly too big, and a shirt that had too long sleeves and was too tight on his chest. With a glance over at Daisy, Daniel makes his way into the hall, and roams around until he finds a phone. 

“Hello, this is Agent Morris speaking.” A voice says on the other end of the line. Daniel sighs in relief. Finally! It doesn’t even bother him that it’s Morris speaking. He’s just glad the office picked up.

“Morris!” He says, “It’s Sousa.”

“Wow, Sousa, huh. How’s your little get away with Johnson?” Morris asks. It’s all Daniel needs to remember why he’s never liked the other agent. 

“Is Thompson there? I assume he’s in charge now,” Daniel answers, completely ignoring the other man. He hears a mumbled yes, and then the sound of the phone being passed from one person to another. 

“Sousa?” It’s Thompson this time. “Where the hell are you?” 

“Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. We were kidnapped. Daisy- uh, Johnson was- is hurt. We just got back to the city. I couldn’t get hold of the office for days! I heard about Dooley from Coulson in Los Angeles,” says Daniel, rubbing his forehead. He has a headache, despite finally getting a decent amount of sleep. He hears Thompson swear on the other end.

“Yeah, Ivchenko hypnotized him. There was nothing we could do, Dooley sacrificed himself to save the rest of us.” Thompson’s voice is groggy. Sometimes Daniel forgets how close Thompson and Dooley actually were. 

“I’m sorry, Jack. Truly. I- I can’t leave the hospital. Daisy- she’s really hurt. And also, they kind of think I’m her husband.” Thompson makes a sound, and Daniel shakes his head. “Don’t make a comment, please. I had just woken up from passing out when they asked. I didn’t- you get it. Anyways, you know where I am.” 

The two men say short goodbyes. They aren’t men of much feelings or many words either of them. Once Thompson has hung up on his side, Daniel starts dialling a new number. He needs clean clothes and a shave. So, he calls Mrs Malarkey, his landlady. The old woman is first extremely displeased about having to go up to his room, but when he mentions that he’s in the hospital, she changes her tune. After making sure he’s alright himself, she tells him she’ll find him some clothes and be there in a jiffy. Daniel feels slightly better about that. He isn't sure who to call next. Perhaps he should tell Coulson that they have moved to another hospital? It's probably wise. He calls the number.

“Auerbach Theatrical Agency, this is Koenig speaking.” the voice on the other end says. 

“Koenig, it’s Sousa,” he says. There is a large amount of shuffling as if the phone gets dropped. Then a slightly out of breath voice speaks: “Sousa! Why are you calling? Is Daisy alright?”

“She’s uh- alright. We moved to another hospital. Can I talk to Coulson?”

“I’m afraid Coulson is slightly preoccupied at the moment. But I can tell him. Which hospital?” Daniel tells him, and is about to ask what Coulson is up to, when a swarm of nurses and two doctors comes rushing past him. 

“Koenig, I need to go,” he says, distracted, and hangs up the phone. The hospital staff are all going towards Daisy’s room. He grabs his crutches, and follows them as fast as possible. Daniel reaches Daisy’s room, just as they wheel her out on a bed.

“Hey!” he calls out, “Where are you taking her?”

A nurse stops as the others continue past with Daisy. Daniel can see her body writhing around on the bed, her eyes rolled back in her head. His heart feels as if it’s stopping. What’s going on? She was fine just a little while ago.

“We’re taking her into emergency surgery. She’s having a seizure.” The nurse reaches out an arm to calm him down. Daniel wrenches away from her. He doesn’t want her comfort. Daisy is going into surgery! He wasn’t even there, and she had a seizure. For a second, he curses himself. The nurse he pushed away looks at him as if he personally offended her. “Mr Sousa, you need to calm down. We’ll update you as soon as we can. Now go and wait by the front desk. I’ll find you there.”

He doesn’t have much of a choice but to do just that. His heart is in his throat. The way Daisy looked, her eyes wide open and all white. Her small body was covered in sweat and shaking wildly. He wants to throw up. This is a nightmare. He’s about to sit down in a chair in the waiting room when the door opens, and a tiny old lady rushes over to the front desk.

“I’m looking for Daniel Sousa!” She says, her high pitch voice even louder than usual in the quiet hospital. The poor receptionist looks at her. 

“Mr and Mrs Sousa are in room 208.” She says, clearly startled. 

“Mrs Sousa?” Mrs Malarkey shouts. Daniel uses some strength to call out.

“Mrs Malarkey,” he says. The woman turns on her heel. When she sees it’s him, she storms over.

“Mrs Sousa?” She barks. Daniel tries to calm her down, but the woman is already worked up. 

“You are married? When? How? Is she a proper lady? Is that why you haven’t been home for days? Frankly, if you got married I must say I’m slightly offended you didn’t tell me. Where is she? I think I need to take a look at her, see her for myself. And your mother? Does she even know? Married, boy. Married, oh my,” the woman says. Daniel has always known she can say a lot of words very fast, but this must be a new record. 

“Daisy’s in surgery,” he says, his voice much weaker than he wants it to be. The need to throw up is still there, lurking in the back of his throat. Mrs Malarkey’s eyes soften. He must truly look terrible, he thinks. 

“I’m sorry, love,” she says, and holds out the small bag she has brought. “Here are the things you asked for. And some scones. God knows hospital food can be horrible. I once ate it with my sister when she had her appendix removed, and let me tell you, never again. You would have thought sick people deserved some better food. Oh, are you leaving?”

“I’m just going to clean up,” Daniel says, already a few meters away. Mrs Malarkey nods, and smiles sadly. 

“Do you want me to wait?” she asks, and Daniel’s first instinct is to tell her no. But then he stops before the words can leave his mouth. He actually wants her to stay. The thought of being alone, with Daisy in surgery, is horrible. So, he nods.

“If it wouldn’t be a bother-” he says. Mrs Malarkey shakes her head.

“No bother at all. Now go clean up. You look like a train ran you over.” 

\------------------ 

He washes himself as best he can with the little soap Mrs Malarkey provided, and changes into his own clothing, before taking off the beard that’s started to form. He hates having a beard. Once dressed in his own shirt, pants and vest (the yellow knitted one. His favourite), he goes back to the waiting room as fast as possible. The urge to throw up has left him, and a steel determination has taken its place. Daisy will make it through. She has to. And she’s a fighter. Mrs Malarkey is there, as promised, sitting in a chair, her purse in her lap. She looks like she hates the chair, sitting all the way on the edge of it. But, she’s there. And that’s all Daniel wants. Well, that and for Daisy to be all good again. 

“We’re looking for Daisy Johnson,” Daniel spins around at the sound of a British female voice behind him. Peggy? He sees the back of a brown-haired woman, and a man. The man nudges the woman's side. “Oh, sorry. Daisy Sousa,” she changes. Daniel isn’t sure how he feels, hearing someone else call Daisy that. He wishes it was real. 

“Are you family?” the receptionist asks, looking up with disinterest. It’s another one than the one who greeted Mrs Malarkey.

“Actually-” the woman begins, but the man cuts her off.

“Yes.” Is all he says. He turns slightly, and his eyes land on Daniel. They light up. 

“Sousa,” he says, and suddenly Daniel understands who it is. The man is none other than Phil Coulson, war hero and SSR chief. The woman turns around. It’s not Peggy. She doesn’t look the slightest like Peggy actually, but she smiles when she sees him. 

“Sir,” Daniel says, and holds out his hand to Coulson. The other man takes it.

“Is she alright?” he says. Daniel runs a hand through his hair. His curls are still a little damp from the water he put in it earlier. 

“She’s in surgery. I- they won’t tell me what’s going on,” The woman turns around again, and marches up to the receptionist. 

“That’s Jemma Simmons. She’s a doctor. Best one I know,” Coulson says. Daniel raises an eyebrow. He hasn’t met a lot of female doctors in his life. A small cough behind Daniel, moves both of the men's attention.

“Right,” Daniel mumbles. “This is my landlady, Mrs Malarkey. She brought me some clean clothes. Mrs Malarkey, this is-”

“Phil Coulson. I’m Daisy’s uncle,” Coulson says. Daniel raises an eyebrow. For all he knows, that might be true. But maybe not. Probably not. Maintaining a cover. Mrs Malarkey lets out a little ah. She looks at Daniel.

“Perhaps I should leave now?” Daniel nods, and says his goodbye. The small woman leaves quickly after that. Dr Simmons comes over a second later.

“They’re taking me to see her now. You two wait here.” Then Simmons disappears. Daniel falls heavily into a chair. His good leg hurts from holding his entire body up without the help of the other foot. God, he misses having two feet. Coulson sits down next to him. They don’t say anything. Just sit there. Daniel feels extremely helpless.

“What happened, exactly?” Coulson asks after a while. 

“Some man, Nathaniel Malick. He kidnapped us. Because of Daisy- uh-, her-”

“Her powers? Don’t worry, I know about them,” Coulson says, and Daniel nods slowly. At least he won’t have to lie about that. 

“Yeah, them. He operated on her in some barn somewhere. Took her blood and spinal fluid or something. He wanted her powers. In the end, he collapsed the entire building on himself. Good riddance, I say.”

“This barn. Where was it?” Coulson asks, leaning forward, as if that will help him understand the information better. Daniel thinks. Where could they have been? They were four hours away from the first hospital by car. He tries to give an estimate, but it’s hard. The area is still huge, with lots of ground to cover. But Coulson only nods, and gets up to take a phone call. The door to the hospital opens once again, and in rushes another British brunette. 

“Peggy!” Daniel says in surprise before she can even make it more than three steps in the door. She sighs in relief when she sees him, her skirt dancing around her legs. She rushes up to him.

“Thompson just told me you are here! How is she?” Peggy says, the words rushing out of her mouth. Daniel just blinks.

“Why are you here?” He stutters out. Peggy frowns. Daniel continues. “Daisy and I just got you arrested.”

“Yes, well- I knew I was innocent. And I can’t blame you for being good at your jobs,” she answers. Now it’s Daniel’s time to sigh. He’s really missed Peggy these last few days. The thought of her being a criminal, and even worse, mad at him, has haunted around in the back of his mind. And yet, here she is. Daniel feels his shoulders sag.

“She’s not good,” he admits. “She’s in surgery.” 

Peggy looks down. Daniel wonders how this must feel for her. Her only other female friend at work, the only other who knew what she was going through. Daniel reaches out a hand, and puts it lightly on her shoulder. When Peggy looks up again, he’s surprised to see her eyes wet. She always puts on such a brave face at the office. On slip, and she’s bait for the sharks. But it’s only them here. No sharks. He can see Peggy try to dry away the tears, but he stops her.

“You don’t have to be brave all the time,” he whispers. “And I’m sorry if I made you feel like you had to.”

Peggy gives him a hug then, and for a second he freezes. But then he clumsily wraps his arms around her too, his crutches bumping into each other and Peggy's legs. Peggy snorts into his shoulder, and then Daniel can’t help but laugh. It’s not even that funny, but the last few days have taken a serious emotional toll on them both, and they just need something stupid to laugh at. When they pull apart, Daniel dries the last tear from her cheek, smiling at his best friend. He’s just so glad she’s not a criminal. 

“I called a team to- Peggy?”  
“Phil?” 

That moment is when Daniel Sousa learns that Phil Coulson served beside Peggy Carter and Captain America in the war. When the group get over their initial shock, Coulson manages to inform them that he has teams scouring the area Daniel described. Shouldn't take long before they get the results about Malick. The three get into the uncomfortable chairs, and wait. They all eat a scone each, since there’s not much else to do. Half an hour pass, before the door once again opens.

“Mr Jarvis?” Peggy says loudly.

“Ah, Ms Carter. I just wanted to see how Ms Johnson was holding up. Eh- Mrs Sousa,” he corrects himself as he casts a glance at Daniel. Daniel himself is sitting slack jawed, staring at Howard Stark's butler, who is awkwardly standing before them, trying to figure out what to do with his long, lanky body. 

“Uh, surgery?” Peggy says, clearly just as confused as Daniel. There is no reason for the butler to be here, and yet he is. Then Daniel’s brain does a reboot.

“Wait,” he says, straightening his back, “How many people know about the whole, Mrs Sousa thing?” 

Peggy shrugs, “Well, Thompson did tell everyone at the office. Which at the time also included Mr Jarvis here. And Howard. Also, I think Rose was in there,” she looks at Jarvis for confirmation, and he nods.

“Yes, I believe she said something about getting the two of you some flowers. And something about you finally growing some balls to tell Johnson how you feel.” Jarvis states matter of factly. Daniel pales. No, no, no! His brain screams. He’s going to murder Thompson. God, he hates that man. Daniel turns to Peggy, to give her a piece of his mind, when the door into the hospital rooms open.

“Mr Sousa?” It’s the nurse he yelled at earlier. Daniel gets to his feet so quickly that he forgets he only has one foot, and Coulson has to take a steady grip on his arm to prevent him from falling. 

“How is she?” Daniel asks, as Peggy hands him his crutches. The nurse looks between the strange little group of people, before smiling.

“She’s stable. And on the mend. This Dr Simmons is clearly a miracle worker,” she says with a smile. A slight scoff sounds behind the nurse.

“It’s not a miracle, Mildred, just good old-fashioned science,” Dr Simmons says, as she walks into the room. She looks just as pristine as she did when she entered. Daniel wonders what she did to Daisy.

“Can I see her?” He asks. Dr Simmons smiles softly, and nods. “They’re taking her back to her room as we speak.”

\---------------- 

He’s sitting by Daisy’s bed half an hour later, when Coulson enters the room to tell him that the team he sent to locate the barn had found it, but that Malick had been nowhere to find.

“Either someone came and collected the body-” Coulson begins. Daniel finishes for him, “Or he didn’t die.”

Daniel falls into deep thoughts. If Malick hadn’t died, and he still had Daisy’s powers coursing through him with no way to control them, then he was basically a walking bomb. Walking earthquake, he corrected himself. He knows Daisy had taken years to master her powers. She’d told him that. Malick has only had them for two days, and already he’s collapsed a building. 

“We need to look for seismic energy in the areas around New York, right now!” Daniel says, getting up from his chair quickly. Coulson nods, and leaves the room immediately, clearly going to give the order. This is bad, Daniel thinks, running a hand through his hair, this is really bad. He’s not sure what to do with himself. With a last look at Daisy’s sleeping body, he leaves the room. He’s glad some colour has returned to her cheeks, but she is still pale, and very fragile looking. They need to find out where Malick is. Daniel promised that he’d never let that monster touch Daisy again, which had seemed simple when the running theory was that the man in question was dead. Now it’s not so simple anymore. 

Daniel starts walking down the hall, turning around the corner and continuing down another hallway, the crutches echoing with each step he takes. God, he hates only having one leg. It’s very impractical. But just as he thinks that, he feels it. A slight tremor, shaking the ground, like someone hitting a drum far, far below him. 

“No,” he whispers, as the tremor grows stronger beneath him. The lights flicker once. Daniel has never experienced a strong earthquake before, but he knows he needs to move. He turns around, ready to run back to Daisy’s room as fast as possible, when another quake hits, this time even stronger than before. Daniel crashes to the floor, the cabinet beside him doing the same. He narrowly escapes being hit by it, but one of his crutches gets stuck. 

“Damn it!” He shouts, as he tries to pull the crutch loose. He can hear screams and panicked voices from the halls around him, but there is no one in his hallway. He’s alone, too far away to see Daisy’s room. He decides to abandon his crutch. If Malick really is here, then Daniel needs to get to Daisy. He uses the free crutch to get up, but it’s hard work with only one crutch and one leg. The tremors have stopped, but the room is littered with things, covering the floor like a maze. It’s slow going, using the wall to support himself. Between each step, he has to use the crutch to push something aside, so there is enough room for him to jump. He wonders why no one has come his way yet. It’s a huge hospital, in the middle of New York City. The hall should be swarming with people. And yet, he is all alone. 

“Agent Sousa!” a cheery voice calls out behind Daniel. He freezes. The voice is already burned into his brain, a mark he can never get rid of. Nathaniel Malick. Slowly, Daniel turns around. The other man is indeed standing there, just a few meters away. He’s dirty, covered in scrapes, with dark circles under his eyes. It’s a terrible sight really. He actually looks like he should be dead. But then he smirks, a sick, dangerous look taking over his face. “It’s so good to see you again! How’s Daisy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to add in Jarvis there for no other reason than him being the purest little British bean, and I love him.


	7. Until it all breaks down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in a super writing mood today, and wrote a lot. Which was very nice, since I've not felt like writing at all earlier this week. So enjoy!

Malick’s hands are shaking slightly, just like that day at the barn. Daniel can see that they are bruised, a pattern of yellow and blue dancing across them. The other man follows Daniel's eyes to look at his own hands.

“Oh, this?” Malick says, and looks back at Daniel. “That bitch, Johnson, didn’t tell me that her powers break her hands when she uses them too much,” He spits out. Daniel nearly let’s out a growl. His anger is flaring up, burning hot. How can such a monster call Daisy something so vile? He was the one who kidnapped her, strapped her to a table and forced her spinal fluid out of her. If anyone’s a bitch, it’s Malick. But the blonde man doesn’t seem bothered. In fact, he smirks at Daniel.

“But I found a solution. Dr Reinhardt gave me some of his blood. In his veins runs the blood of Jiaying, the woman who doesn’t age, and who can heal herself. It stopped my hands from breaking. And now, I'm here to clean up the mess.”

With that, Malick extends his hand forward, thrusting in towards Daniel. Daniel can see the tremor in the air before it hits him, but there is nothing he can do. It hits him like a train, flying him across the hall, where he crashes into the wall with an uncomfortable sound, before he tumbles onto the floor. His body feels like it’s been wrenched inside out, every single limb is burning. Daniel groans, but still rolls into a sitting position. He can’t let Malick get to Daisy. He can’t. Daniel needs to keep Malick’s attention on him. If he does that, and if Coulson has half a brain, they’ll have time to get Daisy out. Daniel groans. His lungs just got all the air knocked out of them, and each word he has to force out hurts.

“I thought, that-” Daniel groans, and clutches his abdomen. It feels warm, and wet. He must be bleeding. Damn it. But he continues talking, seeing that Malick’s attention is on him. “That Reinhardt was dead. Daisy’s father killed him.”

Malick straightens out, and laughs harshly. Daniel takes the opportunity of the man's adverted attention, to quickly look down at himself. He’s right about the bleeding. It’s quite a lot too, oozing out from somewhere between his ribcage and hip bone. Daniel scans around him, something must have cut him in the blast. Then he sees it, just a few meters away, a bloody scissor is lying on the ground. That must have been what hit him. But before Daniel can even think about reaching out, Malick stops laughing. His eyes are half mad as they seek out Daniel again. 

“Cal Johnson didn’t kill him! He just thought he did. But it’s sweet that Daisy believes that. That the man who killed her mother is dead. Too bad that’s not true, and I’m here to kill her.” Malick is so wrapped up in his own little speech, that he doesn’t seem to notice then Daniel inches closer and closer to the scissors, drawing himself along the floor. Just as Malick finishes talking, Daniel feels his hand close around the cold metal. He breaths in relief. Now he just has to get close enough to shove it into Malick’s chest. That might get difficult, as Daniel can’t stand up, and Malick can throw him across the room without touching him. But Daniel isn’t a quitter.

“You won’t get to her,” Daniel says, as he uses his foot to push his back hard into the wall. If he can get the right angle, he can use it to slide up. With a hard push, he tries. The pain is agonizing, and Daniel tumbles back onto the floor. He can feel the blood running down his pants to now. He’s stuck on the floor. 

Malick inches closer, a smirk back on his lips. He’s enjoying it, that sick bastard. 

“Now, now, Daniel. No need to get up for me,” Malick says, before swiping his hand through the air. Daniel flies across the floor, and crashes into a cabinet on the other side of the hallway. He’s pretty sure he can hear at least two of his ribs breaking, and he can taste blood. He realizes that he has bitten his lips bloody trying not to scream out. His eyes flashes with colours, the pain nearly making him black out. Even breathing seems close to impossible. Daniel can see Malick closing in from the corner of his eyes. It takes less than a second to realize that he has lost the scissors, and that once again he’s completely defenceless. All he can do is watch as Malick kicks things aside, taking his time sauntering over. He’s enjoying this show of power. Like a cat, toying with a mouse before he kills it. 

“You know, Daniel. I’m really going to enjoy this. Killing you, I mean. Which is funny, in a way, considering I barely know you. But, you have been a thorn in my side for a little while now, so, I guess it’s time to say goodbye, Agent Sousa.” Daniel braces himself as he sees Malick raise his hand, and a second later, Daniel feels the strong force of the rippling air above him. But it isn’t directed at him. One second, Malick is there, and the next, he’s sprawling on the floor several meters away. Daniel coughs, as his eyes move away from Malick. And there she is. Daisy. Wearing a white hospital nightgown, her hair in matted curls. There are dark circles around her eyes, and she’s shaking. But her hand is raised steadily. Her eyes are staring straight at Malick, and Daniel can see the fury in them, between the spots of colour reminding him that he won’t be able to keep himself awake much longer. 

“Daisy-” he whispers, his voice much weaker than he thought it would be. Why can’t he talk louder? He coughs again, the blood taste in his mouth getting more intense. Daniel follows Daisy with his eyes. She’s walking down the hall, her bare feet stepping on broken glass and other things littering the floor. She doesn’t even flinch. Daniel turns his head, and sees Malick. He’s on all fours, trying to get up. Before the man can get further, he flies into the wall besides him. Daniel snaps his head to Daisy. She’s stopped just past him, putting herself between him and Malick. 

“Daisy,” Daniel whispers again, and he sees her head move towards him for a split second. That’s all Malick needs apparently, to get up, and send a wave of air, knocking Daisy into the wall opposite of Daniel. Daniel jerks his body, trying to get over to the dazed looking Daisy. But he can’t move. He coughs a little more, and feels something running down his face. Shakenly, he raises a hand, and brushes against his chin. It’s blood. He’s coughing blood. That can’t be good. 

“No!” Daisy’s beside him in a second, her worried dark eyes scanning his face. Daniel blinks up at her drowsily, feeling his eyelids getting heavier and heavier to keep open. Daisy puts her hands on his cheeks. “Hey, stay awake. You have to keep fighting, like you told me. Don’t leave me, Daniel! I can’t lose you to!”

Daniel tries to nod, and wraps one of his own hands around Daisy’s. 

“I said I’d get you home first,” He reminds her, and he can see her smile, despite tears running down her cheeks. He frowns, and moves his hand to her cheek. Why is she crying? Is something wrong? He doesn’t understand. But when he brushes the tear away, he sees a streak of blood left behind from his finger. Oh, he remembers. He’s hurt. It’s funny. He can’t really feel it. Like he’s back in France, fuzzy from getting hit. Daisy’s face change suddenly, anger tracing into all her beautiful features. When did everything get so quiet? He can’t hear anything. Daisy gets up in front of him, turning away. He can see her raise a hand, and open her mouth. Is she screaming? He thinks she might be, but he can’t hear it. Every blink makes it harder to stay awake, and he only wants to sleep. Yeah, sleep sounds quite good now. His vision darkens. The last thing he sees is Daisy, falling to her knees besides him. She clutches his face. He can’t really feel it.

“Come on, stay awake! Damn it, Daniel! STAY AWAKE!”

Then everything turns black, and he can neither feel nor hear anything. It’s almost pleasant, except for the haunting image of Daisy’s worried face. Why is she so worried? He’s just going to sleep for a little while.

\------------------- 

“Several earthquakes shook New York City yesterday. Most of the damage happened at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where several were reported injured, and two dead,” the voice talking is crackling, and hard to hear. Like it’s far away. Daniel tries to force himself to focus on it. It’s like he’s pulling himself up from deep water, the sound like the sunlight far, far above him. It’s hard. For a second, he considers just giving up. His eyes are shut, too heavy to open, and even breathing is hard. It would be so easy to just let go. But he keeps swimming, forcing himself up towards the sun. Something in the back of his mind is telling him to fight. To go home. To Daisy.

He breaches the metaphorical water, his eyes shooting open as he gasps for air. He’s panting, trying to swallow as much air as he can. Daisy. Despite his eyes being open, it’s like he can’t see anything. All around him, there are blurry shapes, moving around. One closes in on him, and his eyes try to settle on it. Something soft touches his cheeks. He blinks. Once. Twice. Daisy. She’s standing right in front of him, a worried look on her face. Her hands are holding his face, her eyes seeking out his, looking for something. 

“Hey,” Daniel says, his voice hoarse. Daisy smiles. It overtakes her entire face, and she laughs, as she leans in and presses her lips to his. He barely has time to suck in a breath, but it doesn’t matter. She’s soft against him, perfect as her lips mold with his. Daniel is vaguely aware of the fact that he can’t move his hands, and the slightly awkward feeling of just sitting there. But Daisy doesn't seem to mind. When they pull apart, Daniel smiles, finally remembering how to do that. But Daisy frowns, and removes her hands from his face.

“Promise me. Promise me to never do that again!” She says, her eyes wide. Daniel stares at her, confused. What did he do?

“What?” He says, and he can see Daisy’s face go from angry, to worried in a heartbeat. She flicks her eyes towards the door, and before opening her mouth to talk.

“You, you took on Malick! Alone! With one leg, when you knew what he could do. You stupid, idiotic, brave, stupid man.” She shouts, clearly frustrated. Daniel can feel a tear on his own cheek. He didn’t realize that she cared this much. He can’t remember the last time anyone cared this much for him. His tears seem to freeze her. “Daniel, I’m sorry. I just- I can’t lose anyone else. Especially you.”

“I know,” he says, reaching out, and taking her hand. At least he’s got control of his limbs again. “I’m not sad, I’m touched. I didn’t know you cared this much.”

She doesn’t answer that, just leans down, and kisses him again. He’s more awake this time, and presses back at her, one hand holding hers, the other gripping her waist. She runs a hand through his hair. Daniel is about to deepen it, when a knock on the door forces them apart.

“Oh, my apologies!” A voice says from the door. Both Daniel and Daisy turn their heads, and see Dr Simmons standing there, wearing a doctor coat. She has a soft smile on her face. 

“Jemma!” Daisy says, and Daniel can see a slight blush on her cheeks. He loves the way it looks. 

“I need to check on Agent Sousa,” Dr Simmons says, as she moves through the room, pulling out what she needs to check on Daniel from her pockets. “And, I need to assess your wrists. I can’t believe you used your powers like that, without your braces. Honestly, it’s like you want to get hurt.”

Dr Simmons ushers Daisy away from Daniel, as she shines a flashlight into his eyes. He misses Daisy’s warmth beside him immediately, despite her only sitting a few feet away. He wants her close, to make sure she’s alright. Dr Simmons takes her time, before she straightens, and takes a step away from Daniel. 

“Well, you seem to be on the road to healing. Still, you do have four cracked ribs, a serious concussion and three stitches in the forehead. And also, there is, of course, the rather large stab wound in your abdomen and the overall beating your body took. It’s actually quite a miracle that you’re already awake.”

Daniel sighs, and leans back on his pillow. His body does indeed feel like he fell down several flights of stairs. “How long was I out?”

Dr Simmons is already over by Daisy, unwrapping the bandages around her wrists. Daniel had assumed they were because of what Malick did, but once they’re off, he sees the bruising on them. It’s red and blue, much like Malick’s were, but this looks fresher, newer, in a way. 

“Nearly twenty-four hours,” Daisy says, smiling slightly at him from across the room. Huh, he thinks. That’s not as bad as he had feared. The radio crackles to life besides him, and he understands who’s voice he heard when he woke up. The radio host announces the beginning of a new episode of The Captain America adventure show. Daniel frowns. He really doesn’t like that show. Clearly, neither does Dr Simmons, who turns around and turns it off. 

“Thanks,” Daniel says. Dr Simmons smiles at him.

“All done,” she says, as she puts down Daisy’s bandaged hands. She knocks something off the chair besides her in the process. “Oh, sorry,” she says, and leans down, picking it up. She hands it to Daisy, who blushes slightly, and takes it from her friend. Dr Simmons looks between the two. 

“I think I’ll show myself out. I’ll tell the team you’re awake, Sousa.” 

Once Simmons is gone, Daniel turns his attention back on Daisy. She’s clutching the thing Simmons knocked down between her fingers. Daniel furrows his eyebrows. The thing she’s holding is a soft, yellow colour. 

“Is that my vest?” He asks. Daisy seems to jump, like he scared her. She opens her hands, and they both look at the lump of knitted clothing. 

“Um, yeah. I- I got the blood out of it. But the stab made quite a hole in it. So, I thought I could try and mend it while I waited for you. I’m not very good at that, though.” She says, and he thinks she sounds nervous. Why is she nervous?

“Why?” He asks her. He can think of a million other things she could be doing with her time, rather than mending his vest. But she blushes.

“I know it’s your favourite. And since this is all my fault-” Daniel shakes his head, and tries to push himself further up. He groans with the movement, and gives up after a second. 

“This is not your fault, you hear me? The only one to blame here is Malick. He’s the one who did this. You hear me?” Daisy nods slowly. Her brown hair is still hanging loosely down her back, and she still looks like she hasn’t slept in way too long. Daniel reaches out a hand for her. She looks confused for a second, but he wiggles his fingers slightly. Daisy actually chuckles at that, and takes his hand. Daniel pulls slightly, and moves as best he can to the side. He doesn’t need words for Daisy to understand what he wants. For a second, he thinks she might protest, but then she doesn’t, and instead she slips off her shoes, and climbs up beside him on the small bed. It’s a tight squeeze, but they manage. Daniel stares at her, his face only inches from hers. He moves a bit of her hair from her eyes.

“You need to sleep,” he whispers. She blinks, and he can see that her body is just about ready to pass out. With a little smile, she closes her eyes. Daniel admires her for a second. Daisy Johnson has to be the single most beautiful person ever put on this planet. Her long eyelashes brush her cheeks, and she smiles. She looks so peaceful. He hasn’t seen her like this before. Sure, he’s seen her asleep, but that has always been because she’s been hurt. And when she’s awake, despite her cheery, sarcastic demeanour, there is a storm inside her. He can tell she’s constantly battling it, using her energy to keep it contained. He wonders for a second just how much she’s holding back. What the extent of her powers are. 

He looks at Daisy, running a hand down her cheek slowly. She’s asleep already. At least he was right about that, she was exhausted. She looks so young, he realizes. Young and fragile. But he knows she’s not fragile like a flower. She’s fragile like a bomb. And he has no idea what will happen if she goes off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm obsessed with Daniel's yellow sweater vest. I just love it so much, and Enver looks amazing in it. I decided that Daisy thinks so too. Also, that last sentence was way to cliche for my liking, but it really is perfect for Daisy. I know there is this amazing gif-set on Tumblr using this quote, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, credit to whoever made that for the idea.


	8. Chasing tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I would love to hear everyones thoughts about this one when you're finished reading it. So, enjoy!

Daniel wakes before Daisy the next morning. They’re pressed together on the small bed, and he can feel the softness of her body against his own. It’s almost intoxicating. She looks just as peaceful in the soft morning light. Someone has opened the blinds on the windows, which means there has been at least one person inside the room. Of course, they have, he tells himself, there are two heavily injured people in here, and this is a hospital. Daisy stirs beside him, stretches her body like a cat, before opening her eyes. She blushes when their eyes meet, and climbs out of the bed quickly. Daniel feels cold immediately. He wants to pull her closer again, but he doesn’t. They aren’t actually married. Not even dating. Daisy brushes her hands down her body. She’s still wearing the dress from the day before, but it’s slightly more wrinkled now. To Daniel, she looks like a queen.

It’s a silent agreement that makes them not talk about the whole bed situation. It shouldn’t be awkward, and it isn’t, but it’s not something they want to discuss either. Because if they discuss it, then it’ll be real and they will have to talk about the future. And right now, all Daniel wants is for this dream, this illusion, to last a little while longer. But then he remembers what Malick had told him right before Daisy came. About Reinhardt. Daniel sighs. He has to tell her. It’s a very hard change of topic.

“Reinhardt isn’t dead,” he says, and watches as her whole body goes rigid. When he’s sure she’s ready to hear more, he tells her everything Malick told him, about Reinhardt still being alive, about him having her mother’s powers, and using them to stabilize Malick. Daisy pretends it doesn't faze her too much, and says she’s fine. But for once she can’t hide her emotions. The shock and heartbreak on her face betrays her. She sits down beside him, staring into the air, clearly thinking about something deeply. He opens his mouth, prepared to say something, anything, when Daisy speaks.

“He died for nothing.” It’s more a whisper, and he barely hears it. Daisy moves so her hair covers her face from his view, but despite that, he sees when a small circle appears on the soft material of her dress just under her face. She’s crying. Daniel isn’t sure who she’s talking about, but he can take a guess. Daisy said her father sacrificed his life to kill Reinhardt. If Reinhardt isn’t dead, then that sacrifice will have been for nothing. Daisy lost years with her father who apparently tried to kill an unkillable man. Daniel reaches out, and brushes Daisy’s hair from her face. He likes it better like this, natural, only in soft waves, not the curly way most women wear. She leans into his touch, her eyes closed. 

“We'll find him,” Daniel whispers. “We’ll find him and we’ll take him. Your family won’t have died for nothing.”

\---------------------- 

Finding a supposedly dead Nazi general turns out to be easier said than done. When Daniel gets released from the hospital three days later (despite protests from several of the nurses), the team put onto the search for Reinhardt has gotten nowhere. All they have to go on, is the fact that Reinhardt must have been somewhere in the state of New York during the last week, so that he could give his blood to Malick. But five days is more than enough to not only flee the state, but the country. Perhaps he’s gone to South America like so many other of his Nazi friends are rumoured to have done? Or to literally anywhere else in the whole wide world? It’s impossible to know. 

Daisy has thrown herself into the search with gusto, spending day and night peering over maps, files, pictures and anything else she can find. Daniel overhears Simmons warning Daisy about over exerting herself, but it doesn’t seem like she cares. She just works and works.

The first time Daniel and Daisy return to work after their disappearance, all movement in the bullpen freezes as they walk in the door. Just like the first time Daisy came, Daniel thinks. But then, slowly, the men, and Peggy, put down their files and coffee cups and whatever else they’re holding, and starts clapping. For a split second, Daniel’s mind wanders to that time in the diner, right after the war, when all the patrons had clapped when he had entered, because he was an injured soldier. He had hated the whole thing back then. But now, he takes a step to the side, and gestures to Daisy. She’s the true hero. He was just along for the ride. Then Thompson barks, and all the men return to their station.

“It’s good to see you again, Sousa. And Mrs Sousa, of course,” Thompson tells them with a smirk, which earns him a good punch in the arm from Daisy. Still he smiles, “I suppose that was earned.”

Daniel pretends not to care, but his insides feel conflicted. He keeps wanting to reach out for Daisy’s hand, wanting to kiss her and hold her. At the hospital, it seemed like a different world. They were pretending to be married. In the real world, at the office, he can’t do that. He isn’t even sure where he stands with Daisy, what she thinks or expects of him. And she doesn’t seem to have time to think about it. There has been no stopping Daisy since they returned.

She runs on a dead battery that no one can control. And Daniel has barely let her out of his sight. They spent far too long, just the two of them, not knowing if they’d see each other again, to be separated now. Too many days depending on each other. Just the two of them. Daniel spends three nights sleeping in a chair in the office, waiting for Daisy to tire herself out so much that he can take her home. So far, that hasn’t happened yet. Ironically, she tries to get Daniel to go home and sleep, which he doesn’t. If Daisy keeps going, so does he. He needs to be there when she finally crashes. He needs to be the one to pick her up again. 

Daniel spends his days trying to help Daisy, but he finds that concentrating on one thing for too long gives him a headache. It’s from his concussion, he’s sure. The nurses made him promise to rest when he got home, but so far, he’s failed miserably at that. There is very little information to recover about Reinhardt. Peggy has some, from the time she spent cleaning up after Hydra the first months after the war. She tells him that Reinhardt was the lead scientist on one of the bases she raided with the Howling Commandos, but that when they got there, the man had been nowhere to find. She has multiple strange objects to present, but none that seemed to trigger any memory for Daisy and nothing that can help the search any further. 

Daniel is walking down the hall, having just talked to some of the scientists about running a sample for him, when he hears his name called out. 

“Sousa!” Daniel turns around, and sees Coulson hurrying up behind him. It’s been three days since Daniel and Daisy were released. Chief Coulson is wearing his coat and hat, and Daniel remembers that Coulson and Simmons are returning to Los Angeles later. They’ve been in New York for more than a week. That’s quite a long time for anyone to be gone, especially for the chief of the Los Angeles office and their lead physician. They’re needed back home. And also, Coulson helped in the fight against Reinhardt more than twenty years ago, when he and agent May saved baby Daisy from the man. He has multiple files back home. 

“Coulson,” Daniel says, and nods at the man, who smiles, a little out of breath. Clearly, he has little time before they leave. 

“As you know,” Coulson says, getting right to the point, once he catches up with Daniel. “Simmons and I will be returning to LA today. And it was just decided that Daisy will be joining us. We hope that some familiar faces and safe surroundings will help her realize she can’t keep going like this.”

Daniel feels a lump in the bottom of his stomach. The world stops for a brief moment, before it spins faster, trying to catch up with itself. Daisy’s going to LA? No, she- that’s on the other side of the country! Daniels' thoughts run haywire inside his head. What if something happens, and he can’t be there to help Daisy back up? What if Reinhardt is expecting this, and takes Daisy as soon as she’s back? Daniel knows very well that Daisy can protect herself, it isn’t that. It’s just that he wants her to realize that she doesn’t always have to. 

“What?” Is all he can say, and Coulson sends him a sympathetic smile. Clearly, he doesn’t wish for this any more than Daniel. But then he says: “I know it’s rushed. But perhaps you could join. Just for a little while. Until we know she’s better.”

Daniel has never agreed to something so quickly. After he shakes hands with Coulson, agreeing to the change of scenery, he takes off, trying to locate Daisy in the busy office. She’s standing by her desk when he spots her, packing down the few things on it in a small box. 

“Coulson said you’re leaving,” Daniel says as soon as he’s next to her, and she looks up, shocked. He can see the exhaustion on her face, despite the fact that she’s clearly trying to hide it. She shakes her head, as if waking herself up, and break their eye contact.

“Yes,” she says, and picks up her box, turning to walk. Daniel follows, as she continues to speak. “I was sent here to help with Howard Stark. And that case was solved. Looking for Reinhardt might as well be done from LA. It’s not like we’re getting anywhere from here.” 

Daniel feels frustration bubble in his body. He takes a hold of Daisy’s arm, gently, and pulls her into an empty room, closing the door behind them. 

“Were you just going to leave?” He asks, a little harsher than intended. Daisy looks up at him with wide eyes. 

“No!” She says, shock evident in her voice, “I wouldn’t do that! I just- I didn’t know what I would say.”

“I promised I would come with you to Los Angeles. Why didn’t you ask me that?” Daisy looks down. Their feet are almost touching. 

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t know what we are. You mean a lot to me, Daniel. I didn’t want to ruin that.”

Daniel shakes his head. “You can’t ruin that. Or this. But, let’s just- take it slow. And see where we end up. Perhaps it will make you happy to hear that I just agreed with Coulson to join your team in LA. I fly down in two days.” 

Daisy looks up and smiles at him. He loves her smile. It’s not something he’s seen a lot, but when he has, it’s always worth the wait. Her whole face light up. Daniel watches as she moves her box so she can hold it with on hand, before she grabs his tie, and pull him down, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. 

Despite it being short, he feels light, and slightly dazed when she pulls back. Daisy smirks.

“Now we can start going slowly.”

\----------------------- 

He takes off from New York two days later. Peggy waves him off at the airport, looking perfectly poised for a woman who just saved the whole world. She makes him promise to look after himself as well, not just Daisy. Which is funny, considering that Peggy is the epitome of looking after others and forgetting herself. 

The flight to Los Angeles is bumpy, and Daniel can’t keep himself from clutching the arms of his chair so hard his knuckles turn white when the turbulence hits. He’s had his leg shot off, but a little turbulence is enough to make him terrified. It’s almost pathetic. The older man beside him chuckles.

“You don’t like flying?” He asks, and takes a sip of the wine he’s been served. Daniel straightens in his seat, but blushes slightly. 

“Can’t say it’s my favourite way to get around,” he admits, to which the man nods. He’s thin, white haired and wearing glasses. There is something unnerving about his whole appearance, but Daniel doesn’t know what. There is a slight accent to his English, impossible to place. He might as well be Australian for all Daniel knows. 

“I always find planes to be so-, what is the word, -practical. You can get so very far, very fast. Practical when you need to get away quickly,” he says, and laughs a little. Daniel chuckles too, just to be polite. 

“So, what brings you to Los Angeles? Work?” The man asks. French accent perhaps? Daniel thinks for a second. The man looks like he’s well off, based on the state of his expensive suit. 

“Something like that,” Daniel admits. He is there to work, yes, but he knows, if he’s being honest with himself, that it’s only because of Daisy. She’s his reason for most things these days. The man shakes his head. 

“I can see in your face there’s more. What’s her name?” He asks with a smirk. It looks foreign on the stern man, and Daniel shudders involuntarily. Did the plane just get colder? Daniel blinks a few times. He knows the shock is displayed on his face clearly. He didn’t think he was that easy to read. Is he truly this lovesick already? The man is still looking at Daniel, intense eyes boring into the side of his head. Daniel scratches his nose.

“Daisy,” he admits. The man nods slowly, and leans back in his chair. He seems startled for a millisecond, but catches himself quickly. Daniel is glad when he finally looks away, giving him a second to think for himself. Why do people always want to talk to him when he doesn't want to talk? Honestly, does he look that approachable? The plane makes another uncomfortable lurch, and Daniel sighs loudly with relief when the flight attendant announces that they are starting their descent to Los Angeles. Soon he’ll be by Daisy’s side again. The two days without her have been strangely uncomfortable. He knew Coulson and Simmons would look after her, but for some reason, he just wants to be there, to make sure she actually takes time to focus on herself. She can’t always put everyone else before herself. 

“Sorry,” the man from before says again, turning towards Daniel once more, and extending his hand. “I don’t think I ever got your name.” 

Daniel accepts the outstretched hand. It’s cold and clammy in his own. The fingers are thin and bony, and just as weirdly uncomfortable as the rest of the man. 

“Daniel Sousa,” he introduces himself. The man raises his eyebrows, a surprised look on his face. It doesn’t make Daniel any less uncomfortable.

“How peculiar,” the man says, “My name is Dr Daniel Whitehall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot twist, I guess. Also, we're going to LA! Finally more members of the AoS team will join the story. Which I'm excited about.


	9. Without you near

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest wait between chapters yet, which I apologise for. Sorry for that, I just had a minor slip where I started writing two other Dousy stories AND a FitzSimmons story instead of writing this one. Hehe, my bad. Anyways, new chapter. Lots of near and dear characters finally joining. Enjoy!

Daniel wobbles down the stairs from the plane, and squints up at the sun. It seems much brighter here than it was in New York. Much bigger and warmer. He takes the last step, relief flooding him when he feels solid ground beneath his feet. Planes really aren’t his thing. Crutch in one hand, suitcase and coat in the other, he begins scanning the runway for someone familiar. He’s not sure who they’ve sent to pick him up. But then his gaze comes to a stop on a woman he recognizes in an instant. 

Daisy is wearing a purple dress, looking as put together and beautiful as she did the first time they met. Beside her stands the largest wall of a man that Daniel has ever seen. He has to be at least six feet four, with massive muscles, and a face that seems to be resting in an angry look. Most people walking in front of Daniel of the plane, give the large, bald man a big berth, but Daisy tugs his sleeve, and points to Daniel. He can’t stop a smile when his eyes take her in. She’s fine. She’s okay. Daniel walks towards them. The large man stares him down with intense brown eyes. 

“Agent Johnson,” Daniel greets when he reaches them, daring a small glance at the big man. He sees Daisy straighten her back. She’s being professional, just like him. Daniel wonders if that is weird. He hasn’t called her Johnson in a while. 

“Agent Sousa,” she greets back. “This is Agent Mackenzie.” 

The large man just stares at the hand Daniel offers, before he takes it with a deep grunt. Daniel can feel the force of the man's grip. He wonders how far Agent Mackenzie can throw someone for a second, before Daisy once again catches his attention. She’s wearing sunglasses, but he still feels her eyes burning into his. 

“Oh, for god sakes,” Agent Mackenzie says, his voice a deep grumble. “I’ll wait in the car.”

Both Daisy and Daniel watch with wide eyes and slight blushes as the man turns around and begins walking. Daniel feels slightly uncomfortable that a stranger can read him so easily. He’s supposed to be an agent for god’s sake. And a gentleman. But here he stands like a stuttering schoolboy experiencing his first crush. Once Mackenzie’s a few meters away, Daniel allows himself to look at Daisy. The minute her face splits into a grin, he relaxes, his insecurities about what Agent Mackenzie thinks long gone, and he accepts her hug when she throws her arms around him. 

“Is it weird that I missed you?” He hears her mumble into his neck, as he stumbles to keep his balance. It really wouldn’t be gentlemanly to fall over whilst supporting a woman. Daniel lightens his grip on Daisy, and she pulls back enough to look at his face. Daniel shakes his head.

“No,” he says with a little smile, his voice low. The two stares at each other for a second, and Daniel notices with some satisfaction that Daisy’s eyes briefly wander to his lips, then up again. A loud honk from a car jostles Daniel’s thoughts, and he’s pulled out of his Daisy infused daze. He coughs awkwardly as he let’s go of her, and watches as she steps away, smoothing down her dress. There is a faint blush on her cheek. Daniel speaks up: “We should probably-”

“Yeah, we should.” Daisy answers, and points awkwardly over her shoulder. “We can’t keep Mack waiting. He doesn’t like that.”

———————— 

Auerbach theatrical agency is- not exactly what Daniel expected from a SSR headquarter. It's so colourful and visible! It has to be extremely difficult to hide the fact that at least 40 people come to work here every day, Daniel thinks. The bell over the door jingles as Daisy pushes it up. The room is filled with stuff, and two blonde girls in barely-there dresses are tap dancing through the room. A small, slightly intimidated looking man is sitting behind a desk, watching the women. His head snaps up at the sound of the bell.

“Agen-Ms Johnson!” He says, a grin on his face. The dancers stop with frowns, and turn towards the door. Daniel adjusts his gaze away from them. Daisy steps further into the room, giving the two women a tight smile, before saying: “Thank you ladies, for your time. But, unfortunately Mr Auerbach can’t take any more clients at the moment, as I’m sure Mr Koenig explained.” She sends a glare in the man's direction while she says it. At least he has the decency to blush and look down.

The women leave after getting their actual, respectable dresses from behind a dressing screen, sending Daisy an ugly glare each, before turning to Daniel with smiles. He just nodded awkwardly, trying not to seem impolite despite feeling slightly uncomfortable. Once the door is shut behind them, Agent Koenig rushes out from behind his desk. He grins as he grabs Daniel’s hand, shaking it intensely.

“Agent Sousa!” He says, “It is such an honour to finally meet you. You’re already sort of a legend around here. Helping agent Johnson fight that evil Malick. Truly an inspiration.”

He doesn’t stop shaking Daniel’s hand during his little speech. Daisy reaches out, pulling Koenig off Daniel. He almost sighs in relief. 

“Is Coulson back?” Daisy asks, as she walks towards the door behind Koenig’s desk. He shakes his head. Daniel frowns. He wonders where the chief might have gone. Daisy opens the door, and mentions for Daniel and Mack, who has appeared from parking the car, to follow her into the room behind. 

“Those women,” Daniel says, as he follows Daisy down a hallway. “They just walked straight in. Is that very safe?”

“We don't advertise.” Daisy says with a sigh “Our sign is barely legible. Our address is wrong in the city directory. And yet, somehow, they find us. There has been talk of changing it.” 

They walk through another door, and suddenly, they enter a large bullpen. It’s much lighter than the one in New York, despite a similar appearance. Perhaps it’s the sunlight seeping in through the large windows. Or perhaps it is the amount of people moving around the room. Several women and people of colour run around along with the white men Daniel is used to from New York. Mack goes over to a desk as soon as they enter, sitting down and starting to work. Daniel takes in everything with his mouth slightly agape. He sees Dr Simmons in the back of the room, walking quickly and reading a file, while a curly haired man runs along behind her, shouting and gesticulating wildly. Daniel is about to ask Daisy about something, when a short woman with brown hair rushes past, so quickly she nearly knocks him over. 

“That’s Agent Rodriguez.” Daisy says, when she sees him following the other woman with his eyes. “She’s like me- she has powers, I mean. Not the same powers obviously, but powers.” 

Daniel nods slowly. The LA office has several super powered agents, yet in New York they have never even heard about them. It’s a little weird, he thinks. Shouldn’t they have been informed, in case they ran into one? He sees Agent Koenig across the room, and wonders briefly how the other man made it so far before they could. Did he also change his tie?

“Agent Sousa.” He hears behind him, and spins around. Daisy turns calmly behind him, and smiles at the woman who’s standing behind them. Melinda May looks just like Daniel remembers her. Her dark hair is pulled away from her face tightly, and she’s wearing black pants and a blouse. Daniel takes the hand she has extended to him.

“Agent May. Nice to see you again,” he greets. May nods once, a hint of a smile on her face, before she steps around Daniel and Daisy. She stops briefly, and whispers something to Daisy, who frowns, but nods. Once May has left, Daisy turns back to Daniel.

“When did you meet May?” she asks, clearly surprised. Daniel shrugs.

“We worked an op together in Washington last year.”

\----------------- 

At the end of the day, Daniel is thoroughly exhausted. He’s met more new people in the last three hours than he does in a normal month. While he said hello to most of the people there, Daisy pointed out the ones that were important for him to remember. The people working on the Reinhardt case with them. Mack, who he has already met, and Agent Rodriguez, who turns out to be Mack’s girlfriend. She also shows him her powers, rushing through the office, gathering a hat of the head of an agent on the other side of the room in less than a second. Daniel can’t help but be impressed. 

The curly haired man that was shouting at Simmons when Daniel entered is actually her husband, Leopold Fitz. There’s also Agents Hunter and Morse, and Agent Trip, who is the cousin of one of the members of the Howling Commandos. Daniel is also briefly introduced to Agents Davis, Piper and Peterson when he met them in the door on his way out at the end of the day. Apparently, they are working a completely different case. 

“So, how was it?” Daisy asks, as the two of them walk down the street slowly. According to Mack, everyone on the team is taking turns walking Daisy home each evening, so that they can make sure she doesn’t actually stay at the office the entire night. The air is thick. Warm and thick, despite the late hour. It’s a different warmth than earlier in the day, and Daniel knows he’ll have to buy some lighter suits and shirts. The one he has now is simply melting him.

“It’s- different. Not bad different, just different,” Daniel admits after a few seconds of thinking. Daisy nods.  
“I thought the same about New York. Or, actually, that was kind of bad different,” she says with a slight laugh. Daniel joins her. 

“Yeah, Dooley isn’t quite as open minded as Coulson.” The LA chief still hadn’t returned when they left, and despite her efforts to hide it, Daniel can see that it’s bothering Daisy. It doesn’t take a genius to see that the two is close. Daniel stops walking, and turns towards Daisy. It takes a second for her to notice, but she turns back to him when she does. 

“He’ll be fine, whatever he’s doing,” Daniel says with a smile.

“I know,” she sighs. “But it’s so hard, not knowing where he is. I wish he could send some message or something. I should get Fitz to make that! Something that can send messages from one place to another in just a few seconds, that you can fit in your pocket. That would be very practical.”

They start walking again, both chuckling. 

“I know you said Coulson and May saved you from Reinhardt as a child, but what is the full story? How did you end up in the SSR, I mean? If you don’t mind sharing,” Daniel asks after a few more meters. Daisy slows her steps, but doesn’t stop entirely. She seems to be thinking.

“Well,” she finally says, “They did save my life. And then in 42, I was living here in Los Angeles with, um, Lincoln. Then he enlisted for the war, and I just stayed here, feeling so extremely useless. So, I signed up as a telegraphist. I got shipped out to England, where I worked for a while. That’s where I met Coulson again. He saw my potential, I guess, and asked to get me put on his personal team. Simmons and Fitz were also on that team. And May. And this guy named Grant Ward.”

Daniel stares at Daisy with wide eyes. Grant Ward? Did she just say that she worked with Grant Ward? The man that tried selling out the allied forces to Hydra? Everyone in the SSR knows about Grant Ward! Clearly Daisy sees the shock in Daniel’s eyes, because she shrugs.

“Someone had to work with him, right? Anyway, our team. We were close. A family. We went in undercover several Nazi occupied places. Saved a lot of civilians, I guess. That’s where I finally realized I could use my powers for good. Yes, they are a tool of mass destruction, but not if I use them the right way. I owe Coulson everything. My job, my friends, my life. On multiple occasions. Even when I was shot, and nearly dead, he put himself on the line to get me the right medicine. He’s more like my father than my real one ever was.”

Daniel listens to Daisy’s story intensely. Everything she has experienced in the last four years makes him respect her even more. He’s convinced that if he experienced even half of that, he would crawl into bed, and never want to get out. Daisy Johnson is a hero, he realizes for the millionth time. Daisy stops walking, as Daniel thinks about Daisy getting shot. If Coulson hadn’t gotten her medicine, he would never have met her. Never got to experience the thrill that is to know Daisy Johnson. He wants to ask her the story about being shot, but refrains from doing so. Perhaps another night. 

“This is me,” Daisy says, and points to a tall, white, stone building. It’s much nicer than the one Daniel is renting a room in. He nods. “Is it far back to you?”

“No, only a couple of blocks. It won’t take too long to walk.”

“Would you like to come in first?” Daisy asks, gesturing to her door. Daniel smiles slightly. He wants to say yes. So, so bad. But he won’t. His mother raised him better than that. 

“I don’t think that wise. Yet,” he says silently. Daisy nods softly, meeting his eyes. Feeling a surge of bravery, Daniel steps forward, puts the hand not holding his crutch on Daisy’s waist, pulling her closer. Slowly, he presses his lips to her cheek, feeling her soft skin under his lips. Daniel is aware that he lingers there for a few seconds longer than appropriate, but when he pulls away, there is nothing in Daisy’s eyes that tells him he did anything wrong. Daniel let’s go of her waist.

“Good night, Agent Johnson.”

\------------------ 

Four days in Los Angeles, and they haven’t gotten anywhere. There were a lot of people working this case, and still nothing. Daisy keeps getting frustrated, and it shocks Daniel when no one in the office even bats an eyelash as the room shakes slightly when Daisy is truly annoyed. It happens first on the third day he’s there, as she slams yet another file shut, and stomps off down the hall. A minute passes, before everything shakes for a second then stops. Daniel’s eyes meet Agent Mack’s across the room, and he nods, understanding that he should let the other man find Daisy. She’s return a little later, Mack on her heels. Despite Daniel wishing it could be him that helps her calm down, it’s clear that Mack has known her longer. He knows what he should do in a situation like this. Daniel doesn’t.

“Let’s try again,” Daisy says evenly, as she sits down again, reopening her file. Daniel admires her resilience. 

It’s late on the fourth day, when Agent Fitz suddenly comes bursting into the bullpen from the science lab. He skids across the floor, and comes to a halt in front of Daisy’s desk, where Daniel is standing, leaning against it. They are discussing whether they think Koenig will get their lunch orders right this time. Most days he doesn’t. 

“Daisy!” Fitz says, out of breath, as he slams a photo onto the desk. In the photo are several men, and Daniel recognizes the one in the middle as Johann Schmidt aka The Red Skull. The first head of Hydra. Daisy looks over the photo once, before looking at Fitz with a raised eyebrow. The Scot uses his finger, and taps something in the back of the photo several times. 

“Look!” He says. His fingers are tapping against a man, barely visible in the very far back of the photo. Daisy grabs the picture, and lifts it to her eyes, squinting. Her mouth falls open, shock evident in her features.

“Is that-?” She whispers, and Fitz nods excitedly, before cutting her off: “Werner Reinhardt? Yes, I believe it is. At least that’s what it says on the back.”

He flips the photo over. It’s signed with several names. And there, all the way down in the corner, is one that gives Daniel shivers and a want to cheer at the same time. Werner Reinhardt. Finally, a clue.

“How did you find this?” Daniel asks, looking from the photo to Fitz. The Scot meet his eyes briefly.

“As soon as we started searching for Reinhardt, I contacted a buddy of mine from Scotland Yard. He was with a team that helped clean up Nazi bases after the war. I thought he might have something. This file came in the mail an hour ago.”

“Can you enlarge it?” asks Daisy, getting up from her desk quickly, standing between Daniel and the table, her eyes on Fitz. The man holds up his hand.

“Way ahead of you,” he says, and just like on command, Simmons appears, carrying a file. She opens it on the desk. There are several photos in it, but Daisy immediately picks up one. It’s dark and grainy from having been enlarged too much, but it’s still fairly easy to identify the features of the man in the photo. Daniel feels a shiver running through his whole body. There is something so creepily familiar about the thin, be-speckled man, who is staring straight into the camera, his body pin-straight. Daniel takes a deep breath, realization hitting him. 

“Reinhardt is in Los Angeles,” he says loudly. Everyone turns towards him, various expressions of shock on their faces. 

“What?” Simmons says, her mouth open, “How do you know that?”

Daniel takes a breath, and meets Daisy’s eyes for a split second. Then he exhales. 

“I’ve met him.”


	10. The beat playing in my heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not beta read. Or proof read. I'm too tired at the moment. Also, this is very much a filler chapter with both fluff and angst, because why not? Enjoy!
> 
> Also, this chapter do actually have a trigger warning as there is some racism towards the end of the chapter. 
> 
> TW: Racism

The office is full chaos, people rushing back and forth, despite it being nearly midnight. There are people trying to get as much information as possible, gathering everything from passenger lists to time surrounding the flight where Daniel met Reinhardt. Daniel himself, watches as Daisy rubs her forehead for the millionth time, pacing in front of his desk.

“Is there nothing, absolutely not a single thing more you remember?” Daisy asks, stopping in front of him again. Daniel groans, and slides back in his chair, shaking his head.

“I already told you! He said his name was Daniel Whitehall, a doctor. He looked just like his photo, but in a grey suit instead of a Nazi uniform. Talked a little about liking how planes could take him away. Perhaps he knew who I was, and said it as a way to mock us.”

“If Reinhardt is in LA, then he won’t have left yet.” Daniel snaps his head up, just as Daisy spins around, uncrossing her arms. Standing in the door, is Phil Coulson. Daisy breaths out, and runs around the desk, hugging the chief. He pats her back slightly, but his eyes are on Daniel. 

“You sitting next to Reinhardt on a plane, that isn’t a coincidence. I’m afraid he’s probably here to try and kill Daisy.” Daisy takes a shocked step back from Coulson. Daniel stands up from his chair, and reaches out a hand, stopping Daisy before she bumps into the corner of a desk. Her eyes flicker to him briefly, before they turn back to Coulson. 

“What do you mean, here to kill Daisy?” Simmons asks quietly from the side. Coulson turns to her.

“I mean just that. He already killed her mother, twice. And then her father tried to kill him. And there is also his obsession with inhumans and their powers. Daisy can level a building with a flick of her wrist. What evil Nazi bastard wouldn’t want to do that?” Daniel feels a lump in his stomach. His hand is still pressed to the small of Daisy’s back, and he feels strangely grateful for that. It’s like he needs a physical reminder that she’s there, that Reinhardt hasn’t gotten her yet. He can feel Daisy pressing lightly against him, as if she’s trying to reassure him to. Daniel wishes he could kiss her again. But maybe not here, with the entire team standing around them.

“Then we need to find him before he finds Daisy,” Trip says, already looking like he’s ready to start a fight with someone. Hunter nods in agreement. Coulson shakes his head and says: 

“We have no idea how much influence or how many people Reinhardt has. May has filled me in on everything Sousa remembers. Reinhardt is the reason I’ve been dark for a few days. I was looking for clues with some old buddies in Europe, but it was a dead end. This isn’t.”

Hunter yawns, and tries to pawn it of like a cough. Morse rubs her forehead, clearly annoyed with her fiancée. But Coulson takes a look around the team, noticing the tired faces.

“It’s too late at night right now,” He starts, “I want everyone to go home and sleep. Tomorrow, we begin searching for Dr Daniel Whitehall. But we can’t do that if half the team is seconds away from passing out.” They all reluctantly agree with Coulson, and begin getting ready to leave. 

Daniel puts on the new jacket he has bought, a beige one that he would never have worn in New York. He picks up Daisy’s stuff, and hands it to her. She accepts it with a slight smile, and the two begin walking towards the door together. They do that every evening now. It’s just practical, as Daniel only lives a few blocks down the road. At least that’s what he tells himself.

“Sousa, a word?” Coulson calls from his office. Daniel looks at Daisy briefly, who nods once. Quickly, he scurries over to the chief’s office. 

“Yes, sir?” He asks, standing as straight as he can. Coulson waves a dismissing hand. He isn’t the biggest fan of titles, Daniel has learned.

“Make sure she gets all the way inside, alright? We can’t have her wandering around alone right now, and knowing her, she’ll try to do just that.” Daniel agrees. No matter what Daisy thinks, there isn’t any shame in someone having her back. He goes back to her, and shrugs it off when she asks what Coulson wanted. She will just get annoyed that they care so much. 

Daniel follows Daisy to her building, and they stop outside, the air filled with a slight awkwardness that they usually don’t have. Daniel scratches his nose, and Daisy looks around, not meeting his eyes. 

“Do you want me to-”

“Good night then-”

They speak at the same time. Daisy shuts her mouth quickly. Daniel takes the opportunity to finish what he was saying. 

“Do you want me to come inside?” He asks. She’s offered every night, but now she won’t even meet his eyes. Daniel takes a step closer. She smells like flowers, as always. He wonders if he’ll ever dare to joke about her smelling like daisies. This isn’t the time, he thinks. Daniel raises an eyebrow, and feels slightly better when Daisy finally looks at him. Her eyes are wide. She’s scared, he realizes. Daisy is scared. Daniel takes her hand in his, engulfing her small one with his. “Come on.”

She doesn’t protest, and let’s him follow her into the building, and up the stairs to the fourth floor. Her apartment, 4C, Daniel notes, is tidy, but quite barren. There isn’t much for personal items anywhere, with an exception of a few photos, and what looks like a Chinese vase. Daisy mutters something about making tea, and hurries to the kitchen, leaving Daniel alone in the living room. He dares to take a look at the photos. One seems to be Dr Simmons and Dr Fitz’s wedding photo. Another is of Daisy, Simmons, Morse, and Rodriguez on what looks like a beach. They’re all wearing summer dresses, the wind moving their hair wildly. They look so happy. All the photos are of her friends, Daniel realizes. He scans them, and freezes.

All the way in the back, behind all the other photos on the dresser, is one that looks extra old. He reaches for it, noting the slight layer of dust. There are three people in the photo. A beautiful woman, a grinning man, and a small baby held between them. The child is young, probably only a few weeks old. Daisy, Daniel thinks. This must be her parents.

“Calvin and Jiaying.” Daniel nearly jumps out of his skin at the sound behind him. Daisy comes up beside him, and holds out a cup of tea, trading it for the photo. She stares at it for a second, before putting it down. “That was their names.”

They drink their tea in silence, Daniel on the sofa, Daisy on a chair across from him. They don’t talk, which is unusual for them. But it isn’t bad, Daniel realizes. In fact, he enjoys it. It’s a good quiet. Once their cups are empty, Daniel offers to clean them up, and Daisy nods, retreating to the bathroom to get ready to sleep. 

He is just getting comfortable on the couch, when Daisy walks back into the living room. Her hair is tied up, clearly so she’ll get curls, and she’s wearing a blue nightgown. It’s not the first time he sees her in one, as she wore it in the hospital, but there is something so different about seeing her like this in her own apartment. He wants to reach out, and touch her. Feel the softness of her curves under his fingers, the caress of her lips on his. Then he makes the mistake of meeting her eyes. They are dark brown, looking straight into his own. Daisy licks her lips quickly, distracting Daniel for a second. He coughs once. 

“Uh- good night,” he says, hearing his own voice like a stranger. Daisy shuffles over to the door he assumes leads to her bedroom. She opens the door a little, and begins to enter, before stopping, and turning to him. She opens her mouth, then closes it again. She does that two more times, before she meets his eyes. With the eye contact still lingering, she fully enters her room. She disappeared into the darkness, and Daniel hears the soft creaks of her bed as she climbs into it. He knows the invitation she just gave. He’s welcomed to enter her room if he wants. 

God, my mother would kill me, Daniel thinks briefly, as he stands up, and limps over to the door. He stops right there, staring into the room with wide eyes. Here, there isn’t a single photo. But, there are stacks on stacks of books on the floor, and a vanity covered in makeup and various knick-knacks. This seems so much more like Daisy. The woman in question is laying on the left side, facing that way to. Daniel swallows tightly, before going to the right side, sitting down. He can barely breath as he removes his prosthetic, and lays down besides Daisy, looking into her back. They’ve shared a bed before, but somehow this is different. Neither of them are injured. They aren’t putting on a show as a married couple. This is just them. Alone. Daniel breaths out, and sees movement in her hair. They are so close. He nearly jumps when Daisy turns around. Her nose is right by his, her eyes staring up into his. Daniel slowly brushes some hair from her face. Everything is so quiet, and slightly too warm. He feels the heat on his entire body. 

“We’ll get him,” Daniel whispers, not sure why. Daisy nods, and before he can think, she soars forward, pressing her lips quickly to his, light as a feather. He barely responds before she pulls back again. 

“Good night,” she whispers. Daniel reaches out his arm, and lays it carefully over her waist, pulling her closer. She scoots until her head lands on his chest. Daniel breathes out deeply. He’s currently in bed with Daisy Johnson, watching as she closes her eyes, trying to sleep. So much for taking it slowly. He runs his fingers through her hair. God, he wishes, please let the outside world go away. Just let me stay here forever.

\-------------------

They don’t get to stay there forever. Barely six hours after he falls asleep, Daniel wakes up from the sounds of someone moving. He’s wide awake in a second, sitting up abruptly, and nearly knocking over Daisy, who’s standing right next to where he was sleeping, holding a coffee mug. 

“Sorry,” She says, sheepishly. “I should know better than to startle a soldier.”

Daniel shakes his head, and accepts the mug she hands him. “It’s fine. I’m sorry too.”

They just stare at each other for a few seconds. Daniel can feel the heat of the cup slowly burning beneath his fingers, but he doesn’t care. Daisy’s eyes are so beautifully brown, he thinks. The light from the only window in her room shines in behind her, and it looks like she has a halo. He wants to tug her back to him. Pull her down in bed, and just lie there, pretending that this is normal. That they are supposed to sleep in the same bed every night, and share an apartment, and grow old together. It’s such a perfect dream. Daniel is almost shocked with himself for thinking it. He’s barely known Daisy for two months. But this illusion that they have created, inside the warmth and intimate silence of her bedroom, makes time seem irrelevant. Until Daisy breaks away from his gaze, her eyes moving to the wall above his head.

“Coulson called. They think they might have found a lead on Reinhardt. He’s calling us back to the office.” And the illusion is dead. Daniel is back to the real world, where there are people out to kill the woman he thinks he might already be in love with, where the fact that the two of them slept in the same bed for a night is completely, completely inappropriate, and where Daniel still has stupid nightmares about a stupid war. The real world is a little more of a shit show. 

They arrive at the office an hour later. Neither has eaten anything yet, and Daniel is painfully aware that he’s using the same shirt as the day before. At least he had time to iron it slightly while Daisy got herself done in the bathroom. He hates how stupidly domestic that sounds. Daniel needs his head back in the game.

“Johnson, Sousa!” May calls when they enter, and with a nod of her head, ushers them into a meeting room. Everyone else from their team is there, clearly waiting. Coulson sends Daniel a look that he isn’t quite sure how to decipher. Daniel just nods once. He hopes that is the right answer. More he doesn’t have time to think before Coulson slaps a file onto the table, and begins. Apparently, they have heard that there is supposed to be some sort of gala the next evening. And Daniel Whitehall is giving a speech.

“How did you figure this out?” Morse asks, leaning forward in her seat. Coulson points at her, seemingly a little excited.

“Peggy Carter, Sousa’s partner from New York, called this morning. Her good friend Howard Stark invited her to join him at a party tomorrow. Now, he’s going with Barbara Morse instead. He’s very excited about that.” Daniel feels his eyes widen, as Morse groans and mutters something about not calling her Barbara, as Hunter begins protesting loudly. Clearly, he isn’t all that amused by his fiancée going on a date with America's most notorious playboy. Coulson just stands there, waiting for them all to calm down. Daniel can see Daisy in the chair across from him, arguing with May. Of course, she wants to go. 

“No, Hunter, we will not be sending her in alone! And even if we did, I’m positive Morse can handle herself. But if you will just listen to me, then I can explain the plan,” Coulson says, still completely calm. Everyone sort of freezes up mid-sentence. Daniel leans back in his chair. It fascinates him how much respect this team has for Coulson. Dooley always had to shout to get his agent to shut up. The thought of Dooley sends a frown over Daniel’s face, and he sighs quietly. Peggy explained what happened before Daniel left, and now he feels an enormous gratitude for his old chief, who died so others didn’t have to. Coulson begins to speak again, bringing Daniel out of his thoughts.

“Morse will go in as Stark's date for the night. Stark also threw in a few extra tickets, which he claims was out of the goodness of his heart, since we so rudely chased him for several months, his words not ours. May and I will go in the front door as well. Now the last two tickets are for Daisy and Sousa.” 

Shouting begins again, an overlapping wall of noise, complaining about how sending Daisy into the line of fire has to be the dumbest idea ever. Sousa feels dread in his stomach, looking over at Daisy. Their eyes meet, and it’s clear to him that she’s just as confused as he is. He just hopes Coulson has a plan. Daniel isn’t sure he can watch Daisy go through all the Malick stuff again. And now they're taking on the guy who taught Malick everything.  
  
\------------------ 

Daniel isn’t sure if he’ll ever be able to breath properly again. He’s standing in the foyer of Howard Stark’s Los Angeles mansion, wearing a brand new white tuxedo jacket and black pants. His crutch has been replaced by a cane. It’s been a long time since he’s been this dressed up, but that is the last thought on his mind. Standing above him, having descended half the staircase, is Daisy Johnson. And she is breath-taking. 

He’s seen her at her lowest. It’s almost impossible to believe that the woman he carried out of a collapsing barn a little over two weeks earlier is the same as the one standing in front of him. Her hair is styled and pinned up to perfection. She’s wearing a golden yellow, floor length dress, with a neckline that’s slightly deeper than Daniel has seen her wear before. And it’s not that she isn't always beautiful, but this, this is something different. It’s like she’s glowing. 

“Cat got your tongue?” Daisy asks cheekily when she reaches the bottom. Daniel swallows hard. Seems like the cat did indeed get his tongue, as he opens his mouth but doesn’t say anything. Daisy grins at him, her eyes holding onto his.

“Hi, yes, sorry to interrupt this little moment,” Hunter says from the side, breaking their bubble, “but we sort of need to get going.”

\------------------   
Daniel extends his hand, and helps Daisy out of the car, gazing up at the incredible facade of the Millennium Biltmore hotel. He is quite certain he’s never been anywhere near as fancy as this before.

“If my mother could see me now,” he jokes quietly to Daisy, as she puts her hand in the crook of his elbow. She chuckles, and he grins. Daniel can see Agent Morse, in a deep red gown, entering the building with Stark some few meters in front of them. If everything goes as it should, then Coulson and May will arrive in ten minutes. Daisy takes a deep breath.

“Let’s go,” she says with a slight smile. They walk together towards the doors. Daniel notes the long sleeves on Daisy’s dress. Probably to keep her bruised arms from being visible. As they pass through the door, and into the massive hall, Daisy pulls their tickets out of her purse. 

“Excuse me, ma’am,” A hotel clerk stops them just before they are supposed to give their tickets. Daniel raises an eyebrow at the small, timid looking man, who has stopped them. The man continues: “I’m afraid this hotel has a whites-only policy. You’re going to have to enjoy the festivities from another room.”

Daniel feels anger flare up in his entire body. Whites only? God, he hates society. 

“Excuse me?” Daisy says loudly, staring at the small man. He shrugs. 

“That’s the rules ma’am. You’re allowed to join her, sir. Or you can go inside.” Daniel has to physically restrain himself from punching the man.

“How is this possible?” He hisses out between his teeth, glaring at the man. At least the man has the decency to look intimidated. Daniel feels Daisy’s hand slightly squeeze his biceps. 

“Daniel, it’s fine,” she says calmly, not taking her eyes off the man. She then let’s go of Daniel, and takes a step towards the other man, looking down at him. Daniel can see how calm she looks. Her face is perfectly even, not a single emotion betraying her. But, he can see the anger behind her eyes. She’s about to explode.

“I’m sorry,” Daisy says to the man. People are stopping to listen, Daniel notes. Daisy doesn’t seem to notice. “Are you trying to tell me that, despite me having the same ticket as everyone else, I will not be let in?”

The man nods slightly. Daisy sighs.

“Well, then you’re wrong. I’m going into this party, using the main doors and dancing in the main ballroom, just like everyone else. And you’re not going to stop me. Neither are you going to stop any other person of colour who tries to come inside. And if you do, well, Howard Stark has a lot of very powerful friends in high government positions in this country. And I am one of them.”

Then she grabs Daniel’s arm, and pulls him calmly along, past all the onlookers and confused staff. She hands the tickets to the woman in the door, who smiles.

“That was mighty impressive, ma’am,” the woman says. “Have a lovely evening.”

The ballroom is huge, and so over the top and fancy. They stop walking not far inside the room. Their whole mission was to not draw too much attention. They have already failed, but at least it was for a good reason.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel whispers as he turns towards her, looking down at her. Daisy shrugs, but doesn’t meet his eyes.

“It’s not the first time. Won’t be the last,” she mutters. “America was at war with Japan. For most of the people in this country, if you’re Asian, you’re Japanese. And if you’re Japanese, you’re the enemy. You get used to it.”

“But you shouldn’t have to!” Finally, Daisy meets his eyes. Her eyes are set defiantly, anger brewing behind them. It’s a different storm than what Daniel is used to seeing when he looks at her. Daisy relaxes her face slightly, and turns forward again, her body stiff against Daniel’s. 

“Let’s just find Reinhardt.”


	11. Standing on the edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention it last chapter, but the hotel the party is at is completely random. I just googled fancy old hotels in LA, hahaha. Daisy's dress is inspired by Lily James' yellow dress in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society movie. Also, I'm rewatching the show with my brother, who's never seen it before. We're still on season one, and he ships SkyeWard (yikes hahaha). Other than that, I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!

They’ve been at the party for close to an hour, and still no sign of Reinhardt. Daniel spotted Morse and Stark by the bar a few minutes ago, and he knows Coulson and May are somewhere on the dance floor. The music is slow, and suddenly, Daniel is glad his mother forced him to take dance lessons as a teen. A surprisingly large number of people seems to want to talk to them, which Daniel finds odd. He’s quite sure Reinhardt has to have sent at least one of these people to spy on them for him. Daisy is playing along with the party, laughing and smiling as if she belongs here. It sounds fake to Daniel, but he knows no one else thinks like that. 

“A dance, perhaps, miss?” the man they’ve been talking to offers Daisy, extending his hand. Daniel wants to protest, but Daisy accepts before he can come up with a reasonable excuse as to why she shouldn't. The man, who happens to be the mayor of Los Angeles, promises to return Daisy in one piece, before he pulls her onto the floor. Daniel smiles tightly at the mayor's wife, before he walks away from her. She seems content enough with the other young men doting on her every whim. 

Whilst walking, Daniel keeps an eye on Daisy at all times. He’s fully aware that she can take care of herself, but it’s still his job to make sure it doesn’t come to the point where she has to do that. A woman bumps into Daniel, and giggles when he catches her eyes. Her blonde hair is braided intricately. She seems young, and she blushes at Daniel’s quick apology before he moves past her, even though she bumped into him. 

Across the room, Daniel can see Morse casually examine the room. She seems relaxed and tipsy, like most women here are. Daniel is actually impressed by her acting skills. That is, until her eyes meet his. Coulson has very specifically told them not to interact. If Reinhardt believes that only Daisy and Daniel are there, this will all go a lot more smoothly. Less than a second after their eyes meet, Daniel sees Morse throw her head slightly to her left. It’s as if she’s throwing hair off her shoulder, but Daniel still follows the movement. She wouldn’t have met his eyes unless she wanted him to. 

Daniel spots what Morse wants him to see immediately. Standing by the door, wearing a grey tuxedo, is Reinhardt. Daniel will never forget his face, nor how he had sat next to this disgusting man for several hours just a week ago. Then Daniel’s mind snaps into action. He needs to get to Daisy. 

Daisy is dancing with the mayor on the floor, a gigantic fake smile on her face. With a sigh, Daniel leans his cane against a wall, and limps over to where Daisy is. 

“May I cut in?” he asks, and watches the mayor frown. 

“Daniel, what-” Daisy begins. She’s doing her part of the mission, he knows, but he has to warn her. So, he smiles, both at Daisy and at the mayor.

“Can’t a bloke ask for a dance with his fiancée these days?” He asks, and grins at the mayor. The large man laughs, and shakes his head.

“You young folk,” he says, and delivers Daisy’s hand over into Daniel’s. Daniel pulls Daisy closer, swaying slowly as the mayor walks away. Once they’re sure he’s out of ear shot, Daisy pulls back slightly, staring up at his face.

“Fiancée now, huh? I thought we were married,” she teases, and Daniel stumbles. Her mood has been down all evening, and the sudden change shocks him. He really wishes they could just stand there, swaying and teasing each other, but he knows they can’t.

“Reinhardt just arrived. We only have minutes, probably less before he sees us. What did you learn from the mayor?” Daisy stiffens in Daniel’s arms, and he actually has to hold her back from turning to look for Reinhardt. Instead, he tries to get her to tell him what the mayor said. That was her mission. Don’t engage with Reinhardt. Figure out how deep his influence as Whitehall goes. Daisy just shrugs.

“The mayor doesn’t know anything about Whitehall except the fact that he’s the one organizing the party.” Daniel curses under his breath. With no information from the mayor, they still don’t know anything about how many people that work for Reinhardt. And even worse, who. Daniel sees Coulson and May standing by the wall, talking to another couple. Just like Morse did, Daniel catches May’s eyes for a second, before rolling his head slightly. She understands him immediately, and leans over to Coulson. With that covered, Daniel takes a split second to look back down at Daisy. She’s scanning the room behind him. Daniel looks back up, and immediately stops dancing. Daisy crashes into him. 

Reinhardt is gone. Daniel lets go of Daisy, and turns on the spot several times. He tries not to seem desperate, but it’s hard. Where could he have gone?

“Mr Sousa! What a surprise,” Daniel hears behind him. Clutching Daisy’s hand in his own, Daniel turns around. Reinhardt is still just as thin, and white haired and stiff looking as he was on the plane. Daniel feels an involuntary shiver up his spine, and Daisy squeezes his arm. Reinhardt moves his cold eyes to Daisy, and his mouth tugs slightly.

“And miss Johnson. It’s been too long.”

Daniel feels the second something small and hard is pressed into his back. The barrel of a gun, he realizes. Reinhardt smiles, an awkward look on his thin face. 

“I would prefer it if the two of you came with me quietly. We wouldn’t want to harm all these civilians now, would we Daisy? Or poor Daniel here.” Daisy sends the man a look of pure hatred, and Daniel is very glad he isn’t the one on the receiving end of that look. It really takes the saying if looks could kill to a new level. He notices that it’s only him that is being held on gunpoint. Daisy is free, he realizes. Clearly, the Nazi bastard has figured out how to get what he wants from Daisy. 

When Reinhardt starts walking, Daniel feels the gun pressed even harder into his back, and he has no choice but to follow. His eyes meet Daisy’s for a second, and he can see the slight panic that he is sure is reflected in his own. They have no idea what’s about to happen to them, or what they can do about it. All they can hope and pray about is that the rest of the team isn’t found out, and can help save them later. They might need it. 

\--------------------- 

Reinhardt doesn’t take them very far. Only up a few floors in the elevator, and locks them into a hotel room. His goon ties Daniel to a chair, the gun still held to Daniel’s back. Once he’s tight and secured in the chair, the gun is moved up to his head.

“If you try anything- anything, to harm me, then I’m taking Mr Sousa with me.” Reinhardt says, and once again he smiles. Daniel wonders if the man thinks it makes him more approachable or something. It really doesn’t. Daisy holds her hands up slightly. She’s unarmed, if one doesn’t count the fact that she’s a walking earth quake.   
  
“You see, miss Johnson,” Reinhardt explains, as he moves to look out the window. “It was never my intention to have you survive Malick’s attacks. But clearly, I overestimated him. And slightly underestimated you.”  
  
“Slightly?” Daniel says, which earns him a punch in the face from the guy with the gun. Daisy flinches, moving towards him. But Reinhardt stops her, simply by holding up his hand. He turns away from the window again, and looks at them though his glasses.   
  
“There is someone here who wants to meet you, Miss Johnson,” he says. It’s clearer to Daniel now that Reinhardt is German. He can hear it slightly through the man’s accent. Daisy only raises an eyebrow, not saying a word.  
  
“Miss Hale?” Reinhardt calls out. The door opens on que, and in walks a very blonde woman with a blue dress. Daniel recognizes her immediately. The girl who bumped into him. Of course, she was working for Reinhardt. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Reinhardt is still looking at Daisy, not sparing Hale as much as a glance. He speaks. “Miss Hale here is very intrigued by you, Miss Johnson. Ever since she found out about you, she’s been interested in meeting you.”  
  
The woman, miss Hale, nods in agreement. When she smiles at Daisy, there is a mad sort of glee in her eyes, that sort of unnerve Daniel. Whatever this girl wants to do to Daisy, it can’t be good.   
  
“Miss Hale here is hired to finish the job that Malick failed to do. You’re a loose end, Miss Johnson. And I don’t like loose ends.” Reinhardt nods once to Hale, who directs her icy eyes to Daisy again. Daniel notices the second two knives slip from the sleeves of the woman’s dress, but he can’t barely get a strangled cry out, before the knives are lodged into the wall, one on each side of Daisy’s head.   
  
“Come find me when they’re dead,” Reinhardt says to Hale, before he and the gun holding guy leaves the room. Daisy is fuming, Daniel can see it, while Hale looks like a child who just got a new toy to play with. A very sadistic looking child.   
  
“I’m going to enjoy this,” Hale says, her voice surprisingly soft. Daniel struggles against the ropes tying him to the chair, but they don’t budge. Damn it. Daisy raises her hand, and blasts the other woman into the wall, knocking her over. Daniel can see more knives scattered around Hale, as she picks herself up again. Already, her blue dress has a few scrapes. Daisy on the other hand, doesn’t look any different from when they left Stark’s house.   
  
It’s been a long time since Daniel has felt this helpless. He watches from his chair as the two women circle each other, taking in the other one. There really isn’t much for him to do, and he doesn’t want to startle Daisy. If he speaks, he might distract her. That is something that he could never forgive himself. So, he sits still, wriggling his hands against his ropes.   
  
“I have waited so long for this!” Miss Hale growls at Daisy, as she spins a knife between her fingers. Daisy still has her hands raised. Daniel knows she’s not wearing her braces around her wrists. Too much fighting will soon make it too painful for her to use her powers. Something needs to be done before that.  
  
“We have never met before!” Daisy says to Hale, staring at her. Hale shrugs.  
  
“But I know all the stories. About the unbelievable Quake. The fantastic Agent Johnson. I have trained my ENTIRE life to be the best! And yet, the minute someone with powers enters the picture, I’m brushed aside like yesterday’s paper. This is my chance to prove myself. To Reinhardt, to my mother, to Hydra! I’ll be the one who killed Daisy Johnson!” Then she hurls a knife towards Daisy, who luckily swerves the knife to the right with her powers before it can hit her. It surges past Daniel’s ear, and into the wall behind him. Then the fighting begins for real.   
  
Hale runs towards Daisy, throwing out a punch that Daisy barely manages to block. Their hands move at a speed unlike anything Daniel has ever seen before. The two women seem to wrestle between who has the upper hand every second. They are almost perfectly matched when Daisy isn’t using her powers. It’s strange seeing them fight, both in beautiful dresses, with their styled hair.   
  
Daisy throws a punch into Hale’s stomach, and the blonde falls forward. Daisy forces the knife in the other woman’s hand loose, and reaches over, trying to get it to Daniel. He nearly gets it, but then Hale is up, and barrels into Daisy, running them both into a wall. Daniel hears a crash, watches with wide eyes as Hale climbs over Daisy, throwing punches. The knife Daisy took is by his feet, and he begins struggling, trying to reach it. 

In front of him, the fight shifts, as Daisy blast Hale into the roof and jumps to her feet. She turns towards Daniel as Hale plummets down again, and uses her powers to flip the knife into Daniel’s hand. Their eyes meet for a second, and Daniel knows exactly what Daisy wants him to do. Once he’s loose, he’ll need to get out, and find Reinhardt before the man disappears again. They can’t afford to lose him again.   
  
Hale throws yet another small blade at Daisy, and it lodges itself in the back of her calf, just as Daniel manages to cut himself loose.   
  
“Daisy!” He shouts, as her feet buckle. Hale sends him an annoyed look, and throws a punch after him, knocking the chair over. Daniel can feel the whole world spin for a second, before it right’s itself again. A sickening crunch sounds somewhere out of his line of sight. As quick as he can, Daniel crawls to his feet. He remembers that he left his cane downstairs, and uses the wall for support.  
  
“I am not done with you yet, Quake,” Hale spits out, her eyes on Daisy, who doesn’t answer. Blood is trickling down Daisy’s leg and from a gash in her forehead. Daniel is sure he doesn’t look much better. But he can’t stand there not doing anything, and he takes advantage of Hale’s distraction. With as much force as he can, Daniel picks up the chair he was just tied to, and smacks it down in Hale’s head. She goes straight to the floor, a heap of velvet fabric and blonde hair.   
  
“That works,” Daisy says, sending him an impressed look. He almost laughs. A chuckle actually escapes him. Daisy grins, but Daniel shakes his head, his frown returning.  
  
“I’ll stay here. You need to get Reinhardt.” It seems like the man has completely left Daisy’s thoughts, as her eyes widen and she nods. As she steps over Hale’s unconscious body, she turns towards Daniel.  
  
“See you on the other side,” she says with a smile, and then she disappears out the door. All Daniel can do is watch her go.

\-----------------  
  
Hale is out cold, and Daniel takes a second to search her body (hands over the clothes and very respectable, of course), pulling several more small knives out of tiny pockets in her dress, and a gun from her handbag. He puts the knives in his own pocket, out of Hale’s reach, and points the gun towards her unconscious form. Better safe than sorry.  
  
Loud screams suddenly come up from somewhere far, far below Daniel, followed by what sounds like gun fire. Daniel moves restlessly in the doorway, his gun on Hale, but his head out in the hall. More shooting makes him step further into the hall, a move he regrets a second later, when a hard punch to his back, knocks the air out of him, and makes him topple over onto the floor.   
  
Hale is standing behind him, staring furiously down at him. Her hair is a mess, and several bruises are already forming on her pale face. Daniel reaches for the gun, which has flown several meters down the hall. Hale laughs. It’s sarcastic and slightly desperate, as she steps over Daniel on the floor. His foot feels numb, then like it’s on fire a split second later. It’s been months since the last time he experienced phantom pains in his missing limb, so of course it has to come now, at the most impractical time ever. 

“Now, now,” Hale says, and kicks the gun further down the hall. Daniel groans, and lets his forehead hit the carpeted floor for a second. Hale saunters over to him, and crouches down in front of him, taking a fistful of his hair and yanking his head up. Daniel bites his teeth together to avoid making a sound at the pain. Hale cocks her head to the side and looks down at him through thick eyelashes. 

“Don’t worry, Agent Sousa,” She says, “I won’t kill you yet. I want Daisy here to see me do it.” 

She lets his hair go again, and the weight of his head makes it hit the floor again. When Hale begins to get up, Daniel’s arm shoots out, locking around her ankle, and pulling hard. The unsuspecting woman lets out a shout, and crashes onto her back. Daniel uses the momentum to push himself onto his knees, and he lands a punch to Hale’s jaw. It’s not the first time he’s had to hit a girl, but he can still hear his mother’s voice in the back of his mind: a gentleman does not hit women.

Sorry mom, but in some situations, he has to.

Hale groans beneath him, and tries to fight back, but now Daniel is the one with all the knives and weapons. He presses one of the knives to her throat, watching her freeze up. He can sense that she’s nervous, which is good. That means she understands just how serious he is.

“We’re gonna get to our feet now,” Daniel instructs Hale, who holds her hands up beside her head. She nods once, and Daniel pulls them both up, the knife still pressed against her throat. A tremor shakes the floor, but Daniel doesn’t let it distract him. His sole focus is on Hale, and how to keep her under control. 

“I can see why Daisy likes you,” She says, and tries to catch his eye. Daniel doesn’t dignify her comment with an answer, and simply presses the blade tighter against her throat. The message should be clear enough. She needs to shut up. And she does. But her eyes still twinkle with something Daniel doesn’t quite understand. He presses her backwards, until they're inside the hotel room again. On the way, he gets the gun, and switches to that in favour of the knives. Hale licks her lips, and locks her eyes with Daniel.

“You know,” she says, and takes a step closer. Daniel pushes her back with the gun, and she continues talking. “I wonder what Reinhardt is doing to your precious Daisy right now. Have you noticed the building has stopped shaking? Means Daisy isn’t using her powers anymore.”

Daniel tries not to think about it. Perhaps Reinhardt is dead. Or captured. That has to be why Daisy isn’t using her powers. Soon, SSR agents will flood the building, and find Daniel with Miss Hale. She’ll be arrested, and Daniel can go find Daisy. She has to be okay. Hale pouts, sticking out her lower lip.

“Now, now, Mr Sousa. Don’t look so upset. There was never any chance for her to win anyway. Half the people here are on Reinhardt's side, happy to comply with his every order.” She smirks as she talks, but not one more word leaves before Hale is smacked against the wall, and falling onto the floor. Daniel jumps in shock, as Agent Elena Rodriguez steps in besides him. She’s wearing an extremely tight suit, which makes Daniel adverts his eyes. She shrugs at Daniel as Hale sends them both death glares. 

“I’ve got this,” Elena says, “Go help Daisy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding Ruby as an antagonist was very random, but I sort of ran out of other ideas. I think it kind of works??? Let me know what you think!


	12. Fire in my eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I just started a new school and I've been super busy from day one. But here's the new chapter! This is not beta or proof read, but I hope it's fine anyway. Enjoy!

The elevator doesn’t work, and the stairs are taking way longer than Daniel wants them to. Every move shoots new waves of pain through his foot, both real from the prosthetic, and phantom from what should have been there. It’s only four floors, but several times the pain gets so bad that Daniel almost rolls forward and falls down the flights. Just when he’s beginning to doubt that he’ll ever get down to Daisy, there is a flat, even floor beneath him, and it’s like coming off the plane all over again. Relief floods through his whole body, and the pain reduces itself to a slight ache. He doesn’t take the time to dwindle on it, only straightens himself out, and begins walking towards the ballroom. 

It’s strange. Everything is quiet and deserted. It looks like a large flock of something har trampled through the area, Daniel notes, with broken things littering the floor. Chairs, decoration, even a curtain. He wonders what happened. Did the gunshots he heard scare all the guests? Did Daisy reveal her powers, or did Reinhardt do something? He hopes all the civilians got out. The SSR can’t deal with any more civilian casualties. Especially with so many influential people at this party. 

Daniel pulls himself along the wall, the prosthetic refusing to cooperate more and more with each step. It’s locking up, getting stiffer and stiffer, he can feel it. It will get very complicated very soon. He has to reach Daisy before he can’t move anymore. If this damn hotel wasn’t so big that is.

The gun he took from Hale is still clutched in his hand. It’s small in his big hand. Nothing like the ones he’s used to from normal missions and the military. This one seems to have been made for fitting into women’s handbags, and Well, female hands. Which it probably has, he thinks. Several countries used female spies during the war. And they must have needed weapons to. Daisy was one of those women, he remembers. She hasn’t told him a lot about what she did during the war, but he knows she spent a lot of time undercover, both in Europe and in Asia. When they’re out of this whole Reinhardt mess he’ll ask her, he decides.

Among all the things on the floor, Daniel spots the cane he left by the dance floor earlier. It’s lying between an overturned chair and a broken champagne flute. Someone must have taken the cane when he left it, and then abandoned it again when they were leaving the building. It’s a relief when he wraps his hand around it, and can stop using the wall for support. Now moving around goes slightly faster, and he makes better progress than before, walking towards the ballroom. His leg is still stiff, but he pushes through it. Daisy might need help. He just has to find her first.

He’s nearly by the ballroom, when he sees it. Just a tiny opening, barely an inch wide, right there in the wall to his right. It’s tall, reaching from the floor to the roof. It has to be a hidden door into the ballroom, he realizes, and walks up to it. The opening is so small that he has to get very close with it, and squint through, careful to not open it accidentally. At first he sees nothing in there. But then he sees her. Daisy. She has her back to him, standing straight and barely moving. 

He can see how soaked the bottom of her dress is with blood, and it’s clear that she can’t put any weight on her leg. She’ll need to have that wound looked at soon, before it gets worse. In front of Daisy, angled so Daniel can barely see him, is Reinhardt. He’s talking, but Daniel can’t hear what he says. Daisy stands as if frozen, not moving or fighting or talking. Daniel curses under his breath. Why isn’t she fighting? She knows Reinhardt wants her dead! She should fight. Daniel needs to stop this.

He looks at the small gun in his hand. It’s a risk. If he tries to shoot Reinhardt but misses, then he’ll hit Daisy. If she moves as much as half an inch to her left when he pulls the trigger, the bullet will meet the back of her head. He looks back at the two in the room. They still haven’t moved. Daniel feels the weight of the little gun. The orders were to bring Reinhardt in alive. But can he shoot to hurt, not kill? It seems impossible from the angle he has. But then he sees Reinhardt smile, and Daniel makes up his mind. 

Clutching the gun with both hands, he puts it against the small opening, lining it up. He breathes heavily, but tries to stay quiet. It seems impossible, and he’s sure that it’s only seconds before Reinhardt sees or hears him. Gun still aimed towards the Nazi, Daniel take a second to mutter a little prayer. First he urges Daisy to drop to the floor or just fall down or move away. But she doesn’t, still standing frozen. Then Daniel finds himself asking God to make sure she keeps standing completely still. If she does, he might make the shot. He isn’t a particularly religious man. But it feels right. Reassuring. 

Daniel aims as best as he can, thanking some overly pompous general from his military boot camp for moving him to the sharpshooter division so early in his training. He knows he’s good at this. Even with the unfamiliar gun, he knows he can do this. Then he wraps his finger around the trigger, blinks slowly once, opens his eyes, focuses on the target, and squeezes.

\------------- 

Reinhardt falls to the floor like an empty sack, blood splattering from the bulletwound onto Daisy. Daniel hit his mark, the bullet lodging in between Reinhardt's eyes. He pushes the door open, and sprints as well as he can into the room. It’s not easy with the cane and stiff leg. Once he’s close enough, he grabs Daisy’s arm, jankinging her towards him. He spins her around towards him, looking her up and down, moving his hands over everything he can reach, trying to see if she’s hurt. She’s still frozen, staring blankly down at the ground, as if Reinhardt’s body is still before her. She has blood on her dress and in her face. Daiel tries to brush some stray pieces of hair from her face, when she suddenly sparks to life, and starts hitting after his hands, punching him. He nearly topples over as Daisy pushes him away, and takes several steps back. She looks furious. 

“Why did you do that?” She screams, angry tears already running down her cheeks.

“Daisy?” Daniel says shocked, staring at her. She shakes her head, turning around herself as she runs her hands through her hair. He sees her eyes linger on Reinhardt’s dead body, as blood spreads out around it. Daniel isn’t proud of having killed someone, but it seemed like the only option. Daniel knows it was against his orders, but in this situation, he’s thinking screw the orders. Reinhardt was going to kill Daisy. The woman herself snaps her eyes back onto Daniel, fury on all her features. Daniel doesn’t understand why. He tries again. “Daisy, he was going to kill you!” 

She shakes her head. 

“No,” she says, the fury from seconds earlier melting into sadness. The transformation throws Daniel off for a second. Why is she sad? What happened with Reinhardt? 

“No, he told me that if I complied he would take me to my mother.” 

Then she falls forward onto the floor as sobs echo through the room. She sounds completely broken. Daniel falls down besides her, reaching out for her. She doesn't fight him this time, and allows him to pull her close to him. It’s a strange feeling. Only two days ago, he fell asleep with her in his arms. He wishes they could go back to that moment, that night. Daisy cries into his arms, her whole body shaking with the force of her sobs. Daniel presses her closer to himself, and notices with slight fear the movement in all the things around them. Her powers were getting out of control along with her emotions. 

“I just want to see my mother. I miss her.”

Daniel presses a quick kiss to her head, as she sobs into his jacket, her arms clenched around his. 

“I know,” he whispers, kissing her head again. “I know, sweetheart.”

They sit in silence after that, as Daisy’s sobs quiet down until only slight shakes in her body. Daniel can feel his real foot falling asleep under her, but doesn’t say anything. It’s not that important. Close to ten minutes pass, with Daisy drifting off into a fitful sleep, before suddenly the doors are pulled open, and Coulson and May run inside. They stop when they see Daniel on the floor, Daisy in his arms.

“No!” Coulson shouts, and runs towards them, but Daniel shakes his head. Nothing is wrong with Daisy, he tries to convey through the movement, and while May seems to get it, Coulson doesn’t, as he slides onto the floor beside them. 

“She’s fine,” Daniel tells him. “Just exhausted.” 

The relief on Coulson’s face makes Daniel think that the older man might just as well be Daisy’s real father. He certainly acts like it. It’s good to know there are people who care this much for her. Coulson picks up Daisy,who’s still sleeping, her body having completely given in to exhaustion. Daniel wants to be the one to do it, but he knows from experience that that's not a good idea. His leg can’t take any more strain. Morse also comes in, with Hunter and Mack on her heels. They all look scared, seeing Daisy in Coulson’s arms, but Daniel explains. Everything is fine. Reinhardt is dead. Mack runs upstairs to help Elena with Hale, and soon it seems like the nightmare is over.

They have defeated Reinhardt.

\-------------   
They travel back to the office in silence, Daisy still asleep, with her head in Morse’s lap. Daniel sits beside May, who is driving, and watches Daisy through the mirror. He wants her to wake up, needs her to. Simmons goes right to work then they finally enter through the Auerbach Theatrical agency’s backdoor, Mack carrying Daisy this time. Simmons makes sure Daisy’s leg wound is cleaned and sewed up, and tries to check for any head trauma. It’s hard when she’s asleep, long eyelashes fanning her cheek. 

“You can leave, if you want,” Simmons offers, clearly seeing how tired Daniel is. He shakes his head. There is no way he’s leaving Daisy. Not now, not when she’s like this. 

“I’m right where I need to be,” Daniel tells the doctor, who smiles softly at him. He is still forced to leave her for a little while, when Mack calls him into a debrief with Coulson. The older man gestures Daniel into a chair, and leans back in his own. He wants to know everything. From the moment he realized Reinhardt was in the building, until the very moment when Daniel shot him.

“You made the call to kill Reinhardt, Agent Sousa,” Coulson says, and Daniel nods. “Even though the order was to get him alive.”

“It was him or Daisy. In the end, it wasn’t a hard choice to make.” Daniel isn’t proud to have killed a man. It’s never easy, taking a life, and he hopes to God that there will never be a day where he thinks it’s easy. But, in this situation, the choice between Daisy or the man who wanted to kill Daisy, it’s an obvious answer for Daniel. And he would make it a thousand times over. Coulson inspects Daniel’s face.

“We won this time.” Coulson says.

It doesn’t really feel like a victory to Daniel. Yes, Reinhardt is dead, and Hale is in interrogation, but there is still a lot to do. It’s become very obvious that somewhere out there, Hydra is still operational. It’s a threat they need to root out before it grows too deep. But we have time, Daniel tells himself, as he leans back in the chair he’s been appointed to. He’s back in besides Daisy’s bed in the medical wing of the office.

His leg aches, but at least he isn’t using it. Daisy is asleep on the bed next to him. Daniel thinks about what he’s told Coulson. About Reinhardt, Hale and Malick. And there is one thing that irks him. Hale mentioned that there were several people ready to comply with Reinhardt's orders, and Daisy said that Reinhardt had told her to comply. That couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? Or maybe he’s just tired. He rubs a hand over his eyes, and down his face.

“Daniel?” His eye’s fly open, as Daisy tries to sit up on the bed. She winces, and looks in shock at the bandage on her leg. She reaches out gingerly, touching it, before pulling her hand back like she’s burned. It probably hurts a lot, Daniel thinks. She was stabbed after all. 

“Reinhardt?” Daisy whispers, as she leans back against her pillow. Daniel smiles a little, and brushes a curl from her forehead. 

“Dead.” He says, and watches as she closes her eyes. For a second, it seems like she’s fallen asleep again, but then she nods.

“Good,” she says, before slowly opening her eyes again. They are shiny. “He was an inhuman.”

Daniel freeze. Daisy sighs at his shocked face, reaching out and taking his hand. He squeezes hers lightly, still trying to process what she’s saying. Reinhardt was an inhuman? He had powers aside from the ones he stole from Daisy’s mother?

“What?” Daniel manages to say out loud. 

“He- Some kind of mind control. When he spoke to me, he had this way of making me believe everything he said. I felt like I wanted to comply with his every order. That’s probably how he got both Malick and Miss Hale to do what he wanted. It makes me feel bad to have hurt them. They didn’t know what they were doing!” Daisy is working herself up again, trying to sit. Daniel has to push her down, as he shakes his head.

“You are not responsible for anything, okay? This is all Reinhardt’s fault. He did this. And he got what he deserved for it.” Daisy nods slowly, and looks up at him. 

“Thank you,” she whispers. Daniel shakes his head again.

“There is nothing to say thank you for. I did what anyone would do.” She grips his hand harder. 

“I mean for everything.” There is an intense amount of sincerity in her eyes that nearly overwhelms him. Daisy continues talking, barely giving him room to breath. “After Lincoln, I never thought- I was so broken. For so long. But then there you came, in that stupid yellow sweater vest, which still has a hole, I’m sorry about that. And you just accepted everything with so much ease. My powers, my life, my story. Nothing ever seems to faze you. I need anything, there you are. I just- never thought I deserved someone like you.”

Daniel swallows thickly. Daisy doesn’t deserve him? It’s so ridiculous he wants to laugh. If anything, it’s him that doesn’t deserve her. This amazing, strong, brave, clever woman. Like no one he has ever met before. 

He can’t stop staring at her. He doesn’t prevent her from sitting up when she tries again, as he follows her with his eyes. She looks slightly worried, and he realizes that he’s been quiet for far to long. Before he can stop himself, he surges forward, capturing her soft lips in his. His hand finds her cheek, as both of her do the same with his. It’s passionate, but calm and soft. Daniel tries to pour as much of his affection for her into the kiss. Tries to show her without words what she means to him. They don’t pull away until they have to breath. Only an inch apart, both panting slightly, Daniel’s eyes lock with Daisy’s. 

“I love you,” he whispers. He sees her whole body freeze. He almost worries that he overstepped. But then she smiles. A big, beautiful, genuine smile. And she laughs as she pulls him back to her, kissing him again, and again, and again.

“I love you too,” She answers a few minutes later, as their foreheads rest against each other. Daniel thinks this might be the best moment of his life. Yes, they’ve just been in a big fight. Yes, they’ve just been badly hurt, both of them, and yes, they're in a goddamn medical wing again. But none of that matters to Daniel. All he can see is Daisy, filling up every one of his senses, as she laughs at his dazed smile. 

“I love you,” she whispers again, and Daniel thinks it might be more to confirm it to herself than anything else, but he grins. If this is how it feels being loved by Daisy Johnson, then he hopes it’ll never end. It’s the most amazing feeling he’s ever felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yes. I made Reinhardt an inhuman. The reason was honestly because I couldn't think about any other way to drive the story towards the right ending. But also! The very anticipated I love you's! Hope that was worth the wait. Epilogue coming soon:)


	13. You are my horizon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is! The last chapter. The epilogue. I hope you like it. This story has been so fun to write, and this super surprising ship really has taken over so much of my mind the last few months. Thank you to everyone who has been with me from the very first chapter, and to everyone who has joined on the way. Thank you for every kudos and comment. They really have made my days. Now, I guess there is nothing more to say than: Enjoy!

Daniel looks over at Daisy. She’s sitting besides him, her eyes closed, and her head resting on her arm against the open window. The warm june wind plays with her hair, and Daniel can’t help but smile, as he looks back on the road.

They have decided to drive. While Daisy doesn’t mind flying, Daniel still hates it, and only does it when he really needs to. Like when he has to travel between Los Angeles and New York for work. And for Daisy. At this point, he knows he’d do anything for Daisy. But she said they could drive. So they are driving. It’s a long trip, but they have two weeks vacation. Daniel plans on utilizing their time as best he can. 

The dusty, brownish Idaho landscape flies past them outside the car. They crossed the state line from Nevada ten minutes ago, and it’s like something in Daniel has shifted. He feels different than he has done in a very long time. Lighter, as if the world isn’t weighing on his shoulders anymore. Only half an hour now, and he’ll be back. Twin Falls, Idaho. He hasn’t been there since he lost his leg. But he’s going back now. 

Daisy chuckles in the seat beside him. He glances at her briefly, and sees that she has opened her eyes and is watching him. 

“What?” He asks with a small smile. 

“Nothing,” she says softly. “You just look so relaxed.”

Daniel shrugs.

“I’m on vacation.” Daisy doesn’t argue with that, only smiles, and closes her eyes again.

\------------------- 

They pull up outside the small yellow house, in a long row of other small, yellow houses. Daisy is sitting up in her seat, taking everything in with an excited look.

“This is so-” she starts.

“Boring? Normal?” Daniel cuts her off, and she laughs.

“No, exactly how I imagined. And well, yes. Very normal. Which is good. I never really had normal.” Daniel takes her hand as she says it, and squeezes it. Daisy smiles sadly at her lap for a second, before turning back to Daniel. He can’t help but smile, and gestures for them to leave the car. Daisy follows, brushing off her soft pink dress. She looks stunning, even after six hours in a car. Daniel opens the trunk of the car, and points to one of the houses as he takes out their luggage.

“That’s my parents house,” He’s talking about the one they’ve stopped in front of. Then he points to the one to the left of it. “And that’s where my sister lives.”

Just as he says it, the door to his sister's house is opened with force, and something small, wearing a green summer dress comes running out like a whirlwind.

“Uncle Danny!” The small girl screams, as she throws herself around Daniel’s legs, her dark braids bouncing around her head. A little boy is not far behind, and joins the girl in holding onto Daniel’s real leg. Daniel laughs. He hasn’t seen his niece and nephew in ages, and it’s almost touching that they still remember him. Using his good foot, Daniel crouches down to their level, and engulfs them both in hugs. Out of the corner of his eye, Daniel can see Daisy watching him, a bemused expression on her face. 

“Mommy, mommy! Uncle Danny is here!” Six year old Jordan takes off, back towards the house, where Daniel can see his little sister, who’s not so very little anymore, waddling out on the porch, her pregnant belly very prominent as she pulls along two year old Harold, who's holding her hand, and sucking on his thumb. Kitty’s husband, Harry, follows them out. Daniel stands up, lifting Emily up with him. She’s small for a four year old. To him, she weighs almost nothing. The girl squeals in his ear. 

Kitty’s hug is warm, if a little awkward with the bump, and Harold doesn’t even want to say hello, but Daniel doesn’t mind. 

“Mom’s at the store. Now,” Kitty says, putting her hands on her hips, as Daniel puts Emily on the ground. “Who is this?”

Daniel straightens, and turns to Daisy, who smiles awkwardly, and takes a few steps forward. When she’s close enough, Daniel puts a hand on her back, reassuring her that his family doesn’t bite. Or Kitty might. He still has a scar on his biceps from one particularly nasty fight when they were kids. 

“Kitty, this is Daisy, my girlfriend,” Daniel says. “Daisy, this is my sister Kitty.” 

For two seconds, Kitty narrows her eyes on Daisy, who actually seems nervous, before the pregnant woman opens up in a wide smile, and engulfs Daisy in a hug. 

“Emily, Emily, Emily,” the four year old shouts from the ground, gaining the attention of the grown ups. 

“Hi, Emily,” Daisy says with a grin, crouching in front of Emily. “My name is Daisy.”

The little girl looks at Daisy with wide eyes. Then she throws a quick glance towards the flower bed by the edge of the driveway. Her little eyebrows wrinkle.

“No.” Emily states, and points a small finger towards the flowers. “Daisy is a flower.”

The four year old doesn’t understand why everyone laughs. But after looking confused between the adults for a second, she joins them, her little face bubbling over with joy. And despite her scepecism to Daisy’s name, she soon warms up to the woman, forcing her to come to the backyard and meet her dolls. Daniel thinks he falls slightly more in love as he watches the two interact. 

“She’s very beautiful,” Kitty says, coming up besides Daniel. He nods.

“Yeah.”

“Are you gonna?” Kitty leaves the question hanging, and Daniel can’t help but grin as he pats his jacket pocket. The weight and shape of the little box is reassuring. And familiar. He’s kept it on his person for nearly two months. Now there’s only one thing left to do with it. Kitty squeals, and hugs Daniel again, as Harry claps his back with a smile. Jordan runs past with a scream, heading towards the backyard.

“Oh, we should probably go save poor Daisy from Harry’s demon spawns,” Kitty says, and begins waddling toward the garden. Daniel chuckles, as Harry looks offended at them.

“My demon spawn? They're your children too!” Kitty shakes her head.

“No, they're my children when they're sweet, and quiet, and clean.”

“So, they're never your children?” Harry says, clearly amused. Daniel laughs as he watches them. It’s so quietly domestic. It’s exactly what he wants. With Daisy. Their own little family. Their own little house. Their own domestic life. He just hopes she’ll say yes.

\--------------------- 

“Miss Daisy,” Daniel watches from behind them as Emily quietly approaches Daisy. She’s sitting on the back porch of Daniel’s mother's house, hair loose, as she enjoys the warm summer evening. Warmth spreads through Daniel as Daisy opens her eyes, still looking completely relaxed, and smiles at Emily. 

“Yes, Emily?” Daisy says, her voice soft as the little girl approaches her. The child takes her seat besides Daisy, dangling her short legs besides Daisy. For a second, she rubs her face with her tiny hands, obviously holding back a yawn. It’s a little late for her to be up, Daniel thinks. Daisy brushes a hand over the girl’s dark curls. 

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” She asks, as Emily can’t hold back anymore, and yawns loudly. Daniel can barely hold back a chuckle, and grins at Daisy when she turns her head slightly to look at him. Emily nods, and regains Daisy’s attention. 

“I ask you one question first?” Emily asks when she finishes yawning. Daisy looks at the child, and Daniel feels his pulse quicken. Now or never, he suppose. The girl licks her lips clumsily, then looks up at Daisy. “Do you wanna be my auntie? Uncle Daniel said that if we asked nicely, you could be my auntie. Please?” 

She pouts her lower lip. While she asks, Daniel sinks as quietly as he can to one knee behind Daisy. The small, black box is in his hand. Daisy’s mouth opens in shock as she looks at the child. Then her head whips around towards Daniel. It’s the moment of truth, he thinks. Daisy’s eyes are wide, her mouth open as she struggles to say something.

“So?” Daniel says, feeling a nervous smile on his face, “Daisy Johnson, will you marry me?” 

She flies up from her seat quicker than he’s ever seen her move, and nearly knocks him over when she throws her arms around him, kissing him. He kisses her back, all passion and no thoughts. They pull apart after a little while, trying to catch their breath. Daniel smirks.

“You didn’t answer.” He states. Daisy laughs, and nods.

“Yes, you dork! Of course, I’ll marry you!” Then she kisses him again. It takes a few seconds before he manages to pull away. 

“Child,” he whispers, and Daisy lets go of him so quickly he thinks he might have burned her. She blushes, as they both turn their hands toward Emily. The little girl is sitting there, covering her eyes clumsily with chubby hands. She peeks out between her fingers. Then she cocks her head at them.

“Are you my auntie now? I asked nice,” she says. Daniel bursts out laughing, Daisy joining him a second later. They pull Emily over to them, and let her wrap her tiny arms around their necks, squishing their faces. 

“Yeah,” Daisy says, pressing a kiss to the little girl's cheek. “I’ll be your auntie now.”

\--------------------

They get married at the end of August. It’s not like they need a reason to wait any longer. If anything has been proven during the time they’ve known each other, it’s that in their line of work, you never know how long someone will be around. There is nothing to wait for. And when Daniel sees Daisy, walking down the aisle, holding onto Coulson’s arm, he knows this is everything he’s ever wanted. 

Her dress is simple, but with a long train and veil, trailing behind her as she walks towards him. Daniel forgets to breathe, as their eyes meet and she smiles. But when Coulson places Daisy's small hand in Daniel’s, it’s like being slammed back into his own body. It all becomes ten thousand times more real. All the colours brighter, the sounds louder, and he can even smell the flowers in the little church. 

They say their vows in front of friends and family. Emily and FitzSimmons little girl Alya are the flower girls, and Jordan carries their rings. Daniel’s own mother cries through the whole thing, which he recalls she did during Kitty’s wedding too. His sister sits there on the front row weeping, little Harold next to her, and baby DeDe in her arms. The rest of his side is filled up with large amounts of extended family, but a few friends here and there. Peggy is there, with Jack Thompson next to her. 

On Daisy’s side is a wide array of mostly SSR agents, but Daniel knows. They’re her family. She knows more about each of them than he does most of the people on his side. Not that he cares. The team from Los Angeles is beginning to become his family. He knows that just like him, they’d all give their life for Daisy. And as he stares into her perfect eyes, he remembers that she’ll do the same without hesitation. But it’s their job to make sure that they’ll never have to. 

“I love you,” whispers Daisy into his arm, as she leans her head against it. It's a huge wedding party, but he suppose that’s the nice thing about having two houses with one backyard. The combined area of his parents and Kitty’s backyards has given more than enough space for the table. Daniel kisses her head, and smiles. “I love you too.”

A clicking sound sounds through the yard, a spoon against a glass. People quiet down, even little Harold. It takes Daniel a second to figure out who’s getting up to speak. Both his own father and Coulson have already given their speeches. And so has Dr Simmons. Daniel feels his mouth slip open as Peggy gets up from her chair. She smiles at the two of them, as people gaze up at her. 

“Daniel,” She says. “When I first started working for the company last year, you were the only one who took the time to get to know me. The only one who believed in me. The only one who tried to help me despite me saying multiple times that I didn’t want help. And Daisy. When you joined the office, you were the only one who understood me. The only one who saw my side of things. And for that, I want to say thank you. The two of you have been through more in the last year than most couples do in a lifetime. And it makes you stronger. And even more admirable. I’m proud to call myself your friend. And to think, all this started because we in New York were to blind to solve our own problems. All this started because they sent someone from the LA office.”


End file.
